On the heels of the Band Perry’s hiatus announcement, co-founder Kimberly Perry has signed to Records Nashville/Columbia Records in pursuit of a solo career.
“From the moment I met the team at Records, their appreciation for my journey and my vision for the future as a solo artist has been overwhelming,” Perry commented about the signing. “Everything came together so organically, and it felt right from the very start.”
Based in Nashville, Perry will release a new body of work that “promises to be her most honest and intimate,” per the press release.
In an Instagram post, Perry detailed her move to Nashville where she’s been busy “writing songs with the town’s (and the world’s) greatest writers as a solo artist for the first time in my life. I’ve reconnected with myself and my creative center – it’s all been so beautiful.”
“We’re so excited at Records Nashville to welcome Kimberly Perry as a solo artist with her return to country music,” added Barry Weiss, Records founder and C.E.O.
The Band Perry is the trio of siblings behind hits like “If I Die Young,” “Better Dig Two,” and “Postcard From Paris,” to name a few. On March 27, the group announced they would be embarking on a “creative break” to focus on our individual creative pursuits.
+ Hipgnosis Song Management has acquired the catalog rights of “Despacito” co-writer Erika Ender, whose work as a trilingual (English, Spanish and Portuguese) composer ranges from pop to tropical music.
The company has acquired a 100% interest in the Panamanian singer-songwriter’s publishing copyrights (including the writer’s share of performance). This includes all songs released or utilized through her Sony Music Publishing deal from 2007 through 2019, namely “Despacito” and over 25 No. 1 singles. The acquisition has been made on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a partnership between Hipgnosis Song Management and funds managed by Blackstone.
Said Ender, “I’ve always believed that music is eternal. I’m confident my songs are in good hands with Merck and his team, and they will do their best to keep my catalog active, present and alive, as they honor and recognize that the songs are the seeds to the entire music industry, the message that touches and marks people’s lives and where it all begins.”
“Despacito” received a song of the year nomination at the 2018 Grammys, making Ender the only female Latin artist in the ceremony’s history to be named in the category. She’s also the youngest person to be inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Ender was represented by Oswaldo Rossi and Pamela Klein at Rossi, P.C. and Sergio Lopes at LCTM Brandbuilders.
+ Grammy-nominated producer WondaGurl (Mariah Carey, Pop Smoke, Travis Scott, Jay-Z, Drake and Kanye West) has signed Canadian producer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Chris LaRocca
to her Wonderchild imprint in partnership with Red Bull Records.
The R&B/pop artist is just the second artist to join the roster, following the addition of Toronto rapper Jugger in 2021. LaRocca has written and produced records for Kali Uchis (“Deserve Me ft. Summer Walker”), Bryson Tiller (“I’m Ready For You”) and Boslen (“Levels”), among others but it’s his anticipated EP “perhaps!” that will take center stage in 2023.
+ Deutsche Grammophon has signed Joe Hisaishi to an exclusive agreement that spans his work as a composer, conductor and pianist. Hisaishi’s work is most notably featured in the Studio Ghibli animations of director Hayao Miyazaki, with his first release on the label being a series of symphonic arrangements from the films titled “A Symphonic Celebration” slated for release this summer.
“I love the fact that Deutsche Grammophon pays special attention to both creativity and sound quality,” says Hisaishi. “Working with its team of dedicated professionals to conjure new symphonic worlds for classical music lovers will be a joy.”
“Joe Hisaishi’s compositions are a fresh and genuinely original approach to symphonic music that is still rooted in the classical tradition,” says Dr. Clemens Trautmann, president of Deutsche Grammophon. “He reaches millions through his scores for the screen and attracts capacity audiences to all the major concert halls around the world. Together with our close partners at Universal Music Japan, we aim to document his irresistible music with signature recordings made by excellent musical partners such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wiener Symphoniker.”
+ Marni Greenberg, formerly head of music communications at YouTube, has been tapped as VP of communications at Sofar Sounds.
“Marni is the smartest, most passionate communications executive in music that I know, as demonstrated by the amazing relationships she’s built over 20 years in music,” said Jim Lucchese, CEO of Sofar Sounds. “Her understanding of the space and ability to story tell make her the perfect fit for our Sofar team. I’m thrilled to be working with her again.”
Before her time at YouTube, Greenberg was the head of product and partnership communications at Spotify.
+ Amy Van-Baaren has been appointed as the inaugural chief impact and culture officer of Resident Advisor.
Van-Baaren started as an intern in RA’s Berlin office in 2012 and later joined the team’s London HQ as festival coordinator, later stepping up to head of festival partnerships before more recently moving into the head of community role.
Her leadership role will see the continuation of RA’s philanthropic efforts efforts, which according to the company, have raised over £500,000 ($600,000) since 2014. Van-Baaren will also oversee the internal company culture, community partnerships and RA’s non-profit jobs board Doors Open.
“One of the things I’m most excited about is Amy developing new RA foundation, which we hope will increase the scale and scope of our community impact work. We’ll be announcing further details on this in the coming month,” added David Selby, RA’s CEO. “I’m delighted to be announcing her step up into this newly created role, which further cements our commitment to our community impact work and wider mission to create a more sustainable ecosystem for the electronic music community.”