Ultra Music Inks Global Label Joint Venture Deal with Color Study

Leading independent music company Ultra Music has inked a global label joint-venture deal with Color Study, it was announced today, December 6 by Ultra Music President Patrick Moxey. It will focus on releases and artist development in personal-pop and emerging folk-leaning music.

The label from artist manager Spencer Kelley launches today with "Eight," the new single from Haux featuring Rosie Carney alongside the official music video for Charli Adams' "Backseat" (which made its premiere yesterday on Billboard). Along with Henry Jamison, to date these four artists have collectively garnered close to half a billion streams on Spotify alone and have received global critical acclaim for writing deeply personal music with widespread appeal. The potential for Color Study with access to Ultra's resources is limitless.

The name Color Study comes from one of Wassily Kandinsky's most famous paintings, "Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles." Kandinsky had synesthesia and could hear color and see sound. This relationship - between art and music, visuals and sound - is at the forefront of how Spencer Kelley, Color Study's founder approaches artist development. From a sensory point of view, a live performance has always been as much visual as it is aural. In the age of Instagram stories, an artist's visual relationship with their fans is only growing more important by the day. Color Study will look at how to help artists tell their story and grow - or in some cases grow-into - their vision. Ultra will play a major role in that development and in helping these artists grow outside of streaming services.

"We are looking forward to charting new territory with Color Study. We've always had a love for songwriting and its mastery. It's been the foundation of many of our most successful releases. With Color Study, we get to explore more into the craft while at the same time work with Spencer on utilizing all our resources starting with our creative department on doing some amazing content," states Patrick Moxey. "To me, this is magic."

"I started working with Ultra while managing Haux in 2016, and from the beginning what stood out to me is how long many of the employees have been a part of the company. It's a supportive atmosphere where they respect the artists' personal needs and put a refreshing amount of care into comprehensive, creative visions," states Spencer Kelley of Color Study. "As Color Study has grown, I've been interested in building a label side to further support our artists. When Patrick, David and I started discussing a joint venture, it was a natural fit and I'm excited to pair our roster with their experience, team and resources."

"Musically, what ties Color Study together is the intimate nature of the songwriting, as each artist is trying to process life through their words, sounds and visuals," adds Kelley. "The intersection of art and commerce can sometimes be a convoluted place, so our approach to management and A&R is based on asking artists where they want to go, setting goals and holding a mirror up along the way. It is personal music, but we've also seen that it can reach a wide audience. I guess you could call it personal-pop. I'm looking forward to working alongside the Ultra team to reach further."

Adds David Waxman, Ultra Music's General Manager, "After signing his management client Haux to Ultra, we saw how knowledgeable Spencer was in a genre of music that the label has not yet tapped into, so creating Color Study imprint together with him felt like a natural progression. Starting with incredible artists Henry Jamison, Haux, Rosie Carney and Charli Adams, the launch of Color Study will be opening an exciting new chapter for Ultra."

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