Songs Sold, Perry To Head Columbia?
• The New York Times and other sources are reporting that Songs Music Publishing, which made a name for itself by signing songwriting deals with young stars like The Weeknd, Lorde, Diplo, Desiigner and DJ Mustard, has agreed to sell its assets to Kobalt in a deal estimated to be the neighborhood of $160 million. Kobalt is acquiring Songs through its subsidiary Kobalt Capital, which buys music copyrights on behalf of investors; last month, Kobalt Capital announced that it had raised $600 million.
In a statement, Willard Ahdritz, the founder of Kobalt, said Songs’ Founder & CEO Matt Pincus, “has built a remarkable company with a combination of great creative vision and a deep business understanding. The results are an extraordinary music publishing company.” The Times says Songs is expected to shut down, with some executives — but not Pincus — going to Kobalt.
• At the same time, Variety is reporting that Songs President and co-Founder Ron Perry has been tapped to fill the CEO vacancy at Columbia Records. While this news has not yet been confirmed on the record by Columbia, the official announcement is expected after January 1. It is believed that Perry will fill the role vacated by former Columbia Chairman & CEO Rob Stringer, who was named CEO of Columbia parent Sony Music Entertainment in April of this year.
Perry, 39, has been a partner in Songs since its inception in 2004, and has long taken an outsized role in the careers of the company’s clients, particularly with Lorde: he oversaw A&R for her sophomore album, Melodrama, which is nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. He also signed some of the company’s early clients, including The Weeknd (whom he connected with Daft Punk, resulting in the singles “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming”), Diplo and DJ Mustard, and he has also worked with Pincus on projects with Noah Cyrus, XXXTENTACION and Desiigner. [Photo from Twitter]
