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Primary Wave Music Celebrates 15 Years!

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15 years ago, Courtney Love was introduced to Music Industry Executive Larry Mestel. That introduction resulted in the purchase of a 50% interest and partnership in Kurt Cobain’s music publishing catalog and the official beginning of Primary Wave. Over the next twelve months, the company would grow into a full-service talent management company and publishing powerhouse that includes marketing, branding, licensing & sync, as well as film & TV production.

15 years later, Primary Wave Music became one of the first independent music companies to use institutional capital and the first to have the foresight to acquire music assets of icons and legends. Over the years the company has become home to some of the most legendary names in music including Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks, Whitney Houston, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Air Supply, Burt Bacharach, Olivia Newton-John, Prince and so many others. We are honored and proud to call them family.

The team at Primary Wave Music were the people responsible for some of the most exciting activations in music including the recently announced Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the Kygo remix of Whitney Houston’s cover of “Higher Love” …

Primary Wave Acquires Legendary Sun Records!

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THE LABEL THAT HELPED BIRTH ROCK MUSIC IS HOME TO THE MASTER RECORDINGS OF JOHNNY CASH, JERRY LEE LEWIS, ROY ORBISON, & MORE

 

“If you’re not doing something different, you’re not doing anything.”

-Sam Phillips

 

On October 1, 1949 Sam Phillips signed a lease on a storefront at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis and on that day, music would forever be changed. In 1952, Phillips’ Sun Records would establish itself as a label where artists would be treated with respect and honesty. Every artist, from Elvis Presley to Charlie Rich, was provided with a non-critical environment that invited creativity and vision. In 1969 music producer and label executive, Shelby Singleton, continued that environment after he purchased the iconic label from Phillips for an undisclosed sum. Over seven decades later, a new day and a new beginning has come as Primary Wave Music, the home of legends, announces its acquisition of the legendary recording company that changed so many lives.

 

“Do you know Sam Phillips?”

-John Lennon

The multimillion-dollar deal encompasses master recordings for legendary artists including Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, The Dixie Cups, and more, …

PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ESTATE OF THE LEGENDARY LUTHER VANDROSS

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AS PART OF THIS NEW DEAL, PRIMARY WAVE HAS ACQUIRED A STAKE IN THE AWARD-WINNING SINGER’S PUBLISHING, MASTER RECORDING INCOME STREAM, AND NAME AND LIKENESS RIGHTS

 

Photo by Kevin Westenberg

 

SONGS INCLUDE THE GRAMMY WINNING “DANCE WITH MY FATHER” AND “HERE AND NOW,” AS WELL AS HIS HITS “NEVER TOO MUCH,” “SO AMAZING” AND “ENDLESS LOVE” FEATURING MARIAH CAREY

“Luther Vandross seized the moment and redefined R&B”

-Consequence of Sound

“Nothing much can be wrong in the world when you’re listening to Luther Vandross”

-NPR

Primary Wave Music continues to acquire some of the greatest music in history, announcing today their partnership with the estate of the legendary and award-winning musical powerhouse Luther Vandross. Born in 1951, Luther started his music career when he was just in High School, playing Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem four times. He would start contributing background vocals on several projects in 1973 and a year later wrote the iconic “Everybody Rejoice/Brand New Day” for the Broadway musical The Wiz and would meet David Bowie, two events that would alter Luther’s career. Creating the hook for Bowie’s hit “Young Americans” and …

U.S. Girls Share Collaboration w/ Classical Pianist Glenn Gould

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U.S. Girls
Share Collaboration w/ Classical Pianist Glenn Gould
“Good Kinda High”

Track Appears On Gould Collaboration Release Uninvited Guests (Deluxe Edition) From Primary Wave Music & Division 88 

“In the future, the audience will become the artist and their life, the art….they will become the uninvited guests at the banquet of the arts.”
– Glenn Gould

In 2020 Meg Remy’s long-running project U.S. Girls released the album Heavy Light, the latest in a run of critically-beloved releases from the acclaimed artist, and with its line up of 20 plus session musicians, perhaps the most collaborative of Remy’s career to date. Today, Remy is returning with a truly unlikely collaboration, a track called “Good Kinda High” that is a collaboration with the Classical Music icon Glenn Gould (1932-1982).

LISTEN: 
to U.S. Girls’ Glenn Gould collaboration
“Good Kinda High“

The track arrives nearly forty years after the death of renowned pianist, and is being released as part of a project from producer Billy Wild called Uninvited Guests, in which he uses samples of Gould performances to build new works in collaboration with contemporary artists in a wide range of genres. The project was initially incubated with Wild’s Division 88, a Toronto-based collective, who dug deep into the Gould catalog with the goal of retaining the musical integrity of the original recordings, while making new songs that …

Robbie Robertson & The Band announce ‘Cahoots’ 50th Anniversary Reissue!

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THE BAND’S CLASSIC FOURTH ALBUM, CAHOOTS, CELEBRATED WITH REMIXED, REMASTERED AND EXPANDED 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION RELEASES

Pre-order & Stream “Life is a Carnival” today!

MULTI-FORMAT SUPER DELUXE EDITION BOX SET INCLUDES NEW MIXES BY BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN; PARTIAL BOOTLEG CONCERT LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA THEATRE, PARIS 1971; UNRELEASED ALTERNATE MIXES; OUTTAKES; AND BLU-RAY AUDIO DISC WITH DOLBY ATMOS, 5.1 SURROUND SOUND AND HI-RES STEREO AUDIO

2CD, DIGITAL, 180G BLACK VINYL AND LIMITED-EDITION 180G BLACK VINYL FORMATS ALSO AVAILABLE

 

DUE DECEMBER 10 VIA CAPITOL/UMe

When The Band pulled into the unfinished Bearsville Sounds Studios in Bearsville, New York in early 1971 to record Cahoots, their fourth studio album in as many years, they were still basking in the success of and acclaim for their first three history-making records. The Band’s landmark debut album, July 1968’s Music From Big Pink, drew inspiration from the American roots music melting pot of country, blues, R&B, gospel, soul, rockabilly, the honking tenor sax tradition, hymns, funeral dirges, brass band music, folk and good ol’ rock ’n’ roll to foment a timeless new style that forever changed the course of popular music. When they released their …

Go Virtual Trick-Or-Treating this Halloween with Primary Wave artists!

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Welcome to ROCKTOBER 🤘 Come “trick-or-treating” for a chance to win merchandise from our rock artists + crank up our Spotify Rock Hits playlist. Every day features a new artist – so check back daily for more “treats” 🎃

 

         

 

Enter + listen now ►www.rock-tober.com

10/19 – Moody Blues

10/20 – Skid Row

10/21 – Cypress Hill

10/22 – Tesla

10/23 – Paul Rodgers

10/24 – Boston

10/25 – Styx

10/26 – Badflower

10/27 – Godsmack

10/28 – Disturbed

10/29 – Alice Cooper

PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC PARTNERS WITH THE ESTATE OF THE LEGENDARY GERRY GOFFIN TO ACQUIRE A STAKE IN THE SONGWRITER HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE’S MUSIC CATALOG

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SONGS INCLUDE “WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW,”

“(YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE) A NATURAL WOMAN,” “THE LOCO-MOTION,”

“ONE FINE DAY” AND MORE

 

“Mr. Goffin wrote the lyrics — among them some of the most memorable words in the

history of popular music.” – NY Times

 

NEW YORK, NY (October 15, 2021) – The music publishing catalog of Award-winning songwriter Gerry Goffin is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Primary Wave Music. In a deal that was announced today, the publishing giant has partnered with Goffin’s estate to acquire a stake in the income stream of the Songwriter Hall of Fame inductees’ songs. This exciting new partnership includes a number of songs Goffin co-wrote with Carole King such as the #1 hit “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “The Loco-Motion,” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” which was famously recorded by the Shirelles in 1961.

The deal also encompasses several songs Goffin wrote with other songwriters such as Russ Titelman, Barry Goldberg, and Michael Masser which include the Oscar nominated “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” …

Primary Wave teams up with Ultimate Guitar with an Alice Cooper cover contest!

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This Halloween, Primary Wave is teaming up with Ultimate Guitar to celebrate Rocktober in style with an Alice Cooper cover contest!

Submit a cover and tab of one of Alice’s songs on the Ultimate Guitar app or website and Alice will be picking his favorites to win special holiday prizes! Deadline to enter is the official Alice Cooper holiday – Halloween (Oct 31)! 🎸

💭 Need some inspiration? Check out Ultimate Guitar’s “Best of Alice Cooper” collection for a compilation of the Alice Cooper hits!

Enter + get more info!

DEVO x Trust Me Vodka collaborate on limited edition collectible box set experience!

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Iconic New Wave Band DEVO Launches The Ultimate Anti-NFT: A First-of-its-Kind Premium Limited Edition Vodka Collectible Box Set Experience In Collaboration With Award-Winning Trust Me Vodka & Deep Cuts Media

Only 1,500 Limited Edition Premium Collectible Box Sets Available & Each Is Individually Autographed & Authenticated By DEVO Members Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh & Bob Mothersbaugh

DEVO Was Actively Involved In Every Step Of The Design For The Collectible Box Set Experience, Each Of Which Contains Never-Before-Seen DEVO Created Graphics & Two Bottles Of DEVO-Customized Award-Winning Gluten-Free Trust Me Vodka. So Sip It! Sip It Good!

Trust Me Vodka (trustmevodka.com), the award-winning premium boutique Vodka brand and experiential lifestyle company, today announced the introduction of its first music-infused premium collectible box set experience in close collaboration with iconic and iconoclastic New Wave band DEVO!

Developed for superfans and collectors alike, this DEVO infused and customized limited edition premium collectible box set experience includes two bottles of DEVO-branded award-winning gluten-free Trust Me Vodka and never-before-seen graphics created by the band. Each of this rare limited edition of 1,500 collectibles is also individually autographed by every member of DEVO – Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Mothersbaugh – and each …

PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ESTATE OF BING CROSBY!

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AS PART OF THIS NEW DEAL WITH THE ESTATE, PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC HAS ACQUIRED A STAKE IN THE SINGER AND ACTOR’S PUBLISHING, MASTER RECORDING, FILM AND TELEVISION, NAME, LIKENESS, AND BRAND RIGHTS, AS WELL AS ARCHIVE OF OWNED MATERIALS

SONGS INCLUDE “WHITE CHRISTMAS,” “WINTER WONDERLAND,” “HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS,” “THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY” AND MORE

“Today he is a kind of a national institution.”
– Life Magazine, 1945

NEW YORK, N.Y. (October 11, 2021) – As the world gets ready for the holiday season, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for Primary Wave Music who announced today their partnership with the Estate of the iconic singer and actor Bing Crosby. Born in 1903, Crosby would go on to become one of the most influential and popular recording artists and a force on the big screen and in broadcasting. Bing is considered to be an architect of 20th century entertainment with over 70 feature films on his resume and over 1600 songs recorded. Because of his influence in motion pictures, in music, and on radio he is one of only 33 people to have THREE stars on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

UK MUSIC EXECUTIVE CLIVE BLACK JOINS FORCES WITH PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC!

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Primary Wave Music is pleased to announce the addition of Clive Black. Based in the U.K., Black is joining Primary Wave to focus on catalog acquisitions of iconic and legendary song writers for Primary Wave IP Fund 3 and its vast war chest. When asking about joining the publishing giant, Clive said “Larry and the Primary Wave team is something that I am extremely excited about and hope I will be able to add value to the wonderful organization Larry has built up since we worked together some twelve years ago.” Larry Mestel, Founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music, added, “Clive is a force in the music industry in the UK. It’s great to have him as part of our team, providing a platform where his vast experience can flourish.”

Clive Black’s career in the music business started at the age of 16, when he started work as an office junior at Island Records. Black soon moved into the world of A&R where his ability to recognize talent, sign and develop artists became the start of a promising career. He joined EMI Records as an A&R Manager but within a few years he was promoted to Director …

Primary Wave to feature at All Access Fest Today!

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We are excited to join Music Forward Today for All Access Fest, where Primary Wave will be speaking with aspiring music industry professionals and artists to connect passions to professions! All Access Fest is a virtual career expo that invites youth ages 16-24 to follow their dreams of a career in the music industry, spark discovery, and map pathways to success.

Speakers include Primary Wave’s Deborah Klein, Lexi Todd, Derek Pierce, & Lorena Garcia,

Join us HERE

We’re looking forward to seeing you all throughout the day! With over 1000+ youth registered from all over the world, it should be a fantastic event!