Partnership Will Encompass Music and Podcasts From Storied Jason Flom-Led Lava Media Brand
NEW YORK, N.Y. (September 30, 2020) – Primary Wave Music Publishing and Lava Media have announced today a new business relationship. The Lava Media umbrella extends across both the new music and podcast businesses, including Lava Music and Lava for Good Podcasts.
Primary Wave has made an investment in the Lava Media businesses and will provide marketing and branding support for Lava’s podcasts as well as access to Primary Wave’s roster of artists, writers, and iconic IP assets. In addition, Lava will work closely with Primary Wave on new publishing signings and catalog acquisitions and will collaborate on co-writing, synchronization, brand relationships, and expanded media development opportunities across both rosters.
The relationship between the companies’ principles dates back to working together during Lava CEO/founder Jason Flom’s chairmanship of Virgin Records and the Capitol Music Group, which saw the signing and breakthrough success of global superstars including Katy Perry, 30 Seconds to Mars, Gorillaz, and many others. The new arrangement, which was negotiated by Lava’s COO Jeff Kempler, Lava’s CFO Elliot Levine, and Primary Wave’s COO Ramon Villa, will give Flom and his team access to Primary Wave’s sync, branding, and digital marketing departments to support, innovate and create new opportunities for Lava’s artists, writers, and podcasts.
Lava Records will continue its long-standing partnership with Republic Records — one which has led to chart-toppers including Lorde, Jesse J, and Greta Van Fleet, and is currently launching critic’s darlings Kat Cunning (best known as the character Sabine on Netflix’s Trinkets), somegirlnamedanna, and rock trio South of Eden.
“Lava has had such an amazing year,” said Flom. “2020 saw my podcast celebrating its tenth season and 15 millionth download and the launch of our new series, Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science, hosted by Innocence Project Ambassador Josh Dubin, as well as Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, hosted by Making a Murderer lawyers Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin.”
“Our music publishing clients have also had a great year,” Flom continued, “including particularly robust international activity from Greta Van Fleet, Moon Taxi, and Ricky Luna, with incredible new talent on deck. We have long admired Primary Wave and their entire team and are especially excited at this point in our growth to be working with them on a range of projects and an eye toward expansion into television and film. With the phenomenal team at Republic on the record side and our new venture with Primary Wave, I am more bullish than ever on Lava’s future and we’re very confident that we can offer our creative roster the best of all worlds.”
Founded in 2006, Primary Wave Music Publishing specializes in the acquisition and unique marketing of iconic and legendary artists and songs, with a focus not just on hit songwriting, but on moments of culture. Over the years the company has acquired the copyrights of over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of legendary artists such as Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall & Oates, Whitney Houston, Boy George & Culture Club, and many more. In addition to its legendary artist catalogs, Primary Wave Music Publishing also boasts hit songwriters LP, Foy Vance, Kiiara, Jeremih, Jocelyn Alice, Georgia Ku, Aalias, DJ White Shadow, and more.
ABOUT PRIMARY WAVE
One of the most dynamic independent publishing and talent management companies in the world, Primary Wave Music is home to some of the most iconic songwriters and artists across the history of recorded music including Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Prince, Ray Charles, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Count Basie, Sly & The Family Stone, Boston, Alice Cooper, Paul Anka, Boy George and Culture Club, Steve Cropper, Glenn Gould, Air Supply, Godsmack, Devo, Donny Hathaway, and many more. Throughout the company’s 14-year existence, Primary Wave Music has embraced an entrepreneurial spirit, offering and executing proactive one-of-a-kind ideas, unique services and marketing campaigns for our artists. Primary Wave has earned a stellar reputation for being forward thinking and re-introducing classic artists and their music into the modern marketplace as well as nurturing young talent to become legends themselves. This success is based upon our team of seasoned and creative executives collaboratively working together closely with our artists as partners. As a company, we strive for excellence in the pursuit of iconic artists and catalogs that not only reflect great artistry, but moments of culture.
Primary Wave’s management division is led by a team of the most passionate and creative people in the business who represent some of the world’s most critically acclaimed artists including Melissa Etheridge, The Isley Brothers, CeeLo Green, Cypress Hill, Bell Biv DeVoe, Fantasia, Eric Benét, Plain White T’s, Yolanda Adams, and producers Mitch Allan, M-Phazes, Mag, Jon Levine amongst others.
