New York, NY (Top40 Charts) L to R: Emily Stephenson,
Director of Global
Client Services at Downtown; Steve Markland, VP of A&R Nashville at Downtown;
Linda Edell-Howard of Adams and Reese LLP; Justin Kalifowitz, CEO of Downtown; Bob Doyle, Owner & President of Major Bob Music; Andrew Sparkler, SVP of Business Affairs at Downtown; Sam Powers of O'Neil Hagaman, PLLC
Downtown
Music Publishing has announced a deal to acquire a portion of song catalogs of renowned publisher and artist development company, Major Bob Music.
Under the terms of the agreement, Downtown has acquired over 2000 copyrights including hits such as "I Like The Sound Of That" and "Fast Cars and Freedom" by Rascal Flatts, "Crash & Burn" and "
Marry Me" by
Thomas Rhett, "
Dirt On My Boots" by Jon Pardi, "It Don't Hurt Like It Used To" and "I've Got A Feeling" by Billy Currington, "
Where It's At" by
Dustin Lynch, "
American Honey" by Lady Antebellum, "
There Goes My Life" by Kenny Chesney, "Commitment" by LeAnn Rimes, "
Strange" by Reba McEntire, "
Our Time Now" by Plain White T's, and "
Fly Over States" by Jason Aldean.
The deal specifically excludes the
Garth Brooks catalog and any songs recorded by Garth Brooks.
On the signing, Bob Doyle, Owner & President of Major Bob Music, said, "We have found a great fit in Downtown
Music Publishing. With their dedication to transparency and creative marketing services, Downtown will take great care of these catalogs."
"It is a tremendous honor and privilege to be trusted by Bob to become the caretakers of these extraordinary copyrights that have defined success here in Nashville, for all these years," said Steve Markland, Vice President, A&R of Downtown's Nashville operation. "We have a deep commitment to finding new opportunities for songs of this caliber."
Major Bob
Music was represented in the transaction by Sam Powers and Kerry O'Neil from O'Neil Hagaman, PLLC, with legal representation from
Linda Edell-Howard of Adams and Reese LLP. Downtown was represented by Jordan Keller and
Sarah Smith from Keller Turner Ruth Andrews & Ghanem, PLLC.
About Downtown
Music Publishing
Established in 2007, Downtown
Music Publishing is one of the world's leading rights-management firms with offices in major music markets around the globe, including New York, Nashville, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Paris, and Sydney. The company's catalog spans over seven decades of popular music, encompassing some of the world's most beloved songwriters and artists including The Beatles,
John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Ryan Tedder, Benny Blanco, Hans Zimmer, The Kinks, One Direction, Mötley Crüe,
Robin Thicke, Naughty Boy, Hardwell, Sturgill Simpson, Santigold, Carla Bruni, and Social Distortion. Downtown
Music Publishing is wholly owned by Downtown & Company, which also owns New York-based Downtown
Music Studios and Songtrust, the world's largest technology platform for songwriting and music publishing royalties, which powers global royalty collection from over 120 territories and more than 20,000 unique income sources worldwide.
About Major Bob Music
Established in 1988, Major Bob
Music has been credited with 50 ASCAP Publisher Awards. They have received three Writer of The Year Awards: two were ASCAP Writer of The Year Awards with one for Garth Brooks, the other for Neil Thrasher, and the third was a SESAC Writer of the Year Award for Cary Barlowe. The company has also received two SESAC Song Of The Year Awards, for "
The Fool" by
Lee Ann Womack and "It Don't Hurt Like It Used To" by Billy Currington. Additionally, they have six BMI Million Performance Songs.
