New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Sony/ATV
Music Publishing has signed Norwegian DJ, songwriter, recording artist and producer
Alan Walker to a worldwide deal.
The agreement includes his song "
Faded", which has been one of the biggest global releases of the past 12 months, with Spotify placing it among its Top 10 hits worldwide of 2016. It is the most-streamed song by a Scandinavian artist of all time.
Sony/ATV's deal for Walker was overseen by the company's pan-European A&R team, a unique setup which works with songwriters from across
Europe with the aim of helping them to realise their full global potential. Its many successes to date include Avicii, Kygo and
Martin Solveig.
The team is headed by Guy Moot, Sony/ATV UK Managing
Director and President, European Creative, who said: "This is a great signing for our European A&R team whose policy of working with the best of local talent and taking it international reflects the global music industry we operate in and has allowed countless acts to fully reach their worldwide potential. I am excited that
Alan Walker will now be part of this setup. He is an amazing artist and surrounded by an incredibly professional team who we cannot wait to work with."
Sony/ATV
Music Publishing Scandinavia Managing
Director Johnny Tennander, who is also a key part of the pan-European A&R team, said: "We're thrilled about this signing. Alan's breakthrough has been incredible and he has taken huge steps as an artist and writer in only one year. We are very happy and excited about working closely with Alan, Gunnar and their fantastic team going forward and very much look forward to contribute to his artist and songwriter world. Next year is going to be exciting."
Alan Walker's manager Gunnar Greve said: "We are equally grateful and excited about entering what we hope and believe will be a long and prosperous partnership and relationship with Sony/ATV. On the basis of our matching ambitions for and with the creative work of Alan Walker, we are confident that this will enable us to reach the goals we have set out for 2017 and beyond. Our sincerest gratitude to Johnny Tennander, Guy Moot and the rest of the Sony/ATV staff for making this happen."
Alan Walker was born in Northampton, England to a Norwegian mother and British father, and at the age of two moved with his family to Bergen, Norway. He began making music as a teenager on his laptop, which included creating the instrumental composition "Fade". After he posted it up on YouTube the song attracted 65 million hits and he added to his repertoire with tracks including "Spectre" and "Force".
His YouTube popularity led to him signing a recording deal with Sony Music, which in December 2015 released the single "
Faded", a reworking of "Fade" featuring vocalist Iselin Solheim. The song became a major hit around the world, reaching No. 1 in a number of territories including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and his native Norway, while it peaked at No. 7 in the UK and No. 2 in Australia. It also became his debut hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US where it achieved gold certification by the RIAA.
Among its many other accolades, "
Faded" is nine-times platinum in Sweden, six-times platinum in Italy, four-times platinum in Australia, double platinum in Germany and Norway and platinum in the UK. To date, it has been streamed around 800 million times on YouTube and more than 500 million times on Spotify where it was the 10th most streamed song globally of 2016.
Also featuring Iselin Solheim on vocals, Walker's second single "
Sing Me To Sleep" was released in June and become a big hit across Europe, including delivering him another No. 1 hit in Norway. Follow-up "
Alone" came out in early December and features vocals from Sony/ATV songwriter and Swedish recording artist Noonie Bao.
Walker's remix work this year has included "
Hymn For The Weekend" for
Coldplay and "
Move Your Body" for Sia, while he supported
Rihanna on the European leg of her 2016 ANTI World Tour and was personally invited to join
Tiesto during his headline slot at the Tomorrowland festival in Boom, Belgium in July. His own extensive touring this year includes appearances in December in China, Singapore and Malaysia as well as two dates just before Christmas in Bergen, Norway where he grew up. The tour will continue in the New Year with further appearances in Europe.
In signing with Sony/ATV,
Alan Walker becomes the latest songwriter and artist to be paired with the company's pan-European A&R team, which works with songwriters from across Europe, a setup reflecting the true global nature now of the music industry. This unique venture can count many successes such as Avicii, DJ Felix Jaehn, Klingande, Kygo,
Milky Chance and
Martin Solveig, where it has taken a songwriter with success in their local territory and allowed them to fully realise their international ambitions by utilising Sony/ATV's network of offices, A&R expertise and other songwriters from across
Europe and beyond.
