STEVIE VAN ZANDT PARTNERS WITH PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC
MAJOR DEAL SEES LEGENDARY ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER
JOINING FORCES WITH PUBLISHING GIANT TO MANAGE
MUSIC PUBLISHING AND RECORDED MUSIC CATALOGS
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE SUCH CLASSIC SONGS AS “I DON’T WANT TO GO HOME,”
“THIS TIME IT’S FOR REAL,” “I AM A PATRIOT,” “LILYHAMMER,”
AND DARLENE LOVE’S HOLIDAY CLASSIC “ALL ALONE ON CHRISTMAS,”
ALONG WITH STAKE IN PRODUCER AND BAND MEMBER ROYALTIES FOR
HIS ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME WORK WITH BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
New York, NY (February 3, 2023) – Primary Wave Music, the world’s leading independent publisher of iconic and legendary music, announced today their partnership with legendary singer, songwriter, and producer Stevie Van Zandt. The multimillion-dollar deal will see Van Zandt and the publishing giant joining forces to manage the artist’s music publishing and recorded music catalogs, as well as a portion of his name and likeness rights. Term of the deal also include a stake in producer royalties from Van Zandt’sclassic work with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, along with band member and producer royalties from his long collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, which includes such landmark albums as The River and Born In The U.S.A., as well as songs like “Hungry Heart,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” and more.
For more than five decades, Stevie Van Zandt’s songs have been performed by such stars as Nancy Sinatra, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector, Damian Marley, Brian Setzer, Michael Monroe, Gary U.S. Bonds, Jimmy Barnes, Black Uhuru, and many others. Highlights of the deal include some of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s biggest hits, among them Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ timeless “I Don’t Want To Go Home” and “This Time It’s For Real,” his impassioned protest anthem, “I Am A Patriot” (famously covered by Jackson Browne, Pearl Jam, and others), the theme song for his critically acclaimed 2019 Netflix series, Lilyhammer, and Darlene Love’s holiday favorite, “All Alone On Christmas” (the latter featured in such films as Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Love Actually).
Terms of the deal also include access to Primary Wave’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, which includes digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities, and film & TV production.
“Couldn’t be more excited to explore this partnership with Larry and Primary Wave,” says Van Zandt. “They have an incredible track record for being creative and proactive. Looking forward to seeing what kind of fun we can have with these songs I’m still really proud of.”
“Stevie’s legendary career speaks for itself,” said Samanthan Rhulen, SVP, Business & Legal Affairs at Primary Wave Music. She goes on, “His talent as a songwriter and producer is renowned. We couldn’t be more excited to have him join the Primary Wave family and our team is ready to dig in to this incredible catalog.”
PRAISE FOR STEVIE VAN ZANDT
“From the stages of the biggest stadiums in the world to the politically roiling provinces of South Africa, my good friend pursued his Rock ’n’ Roll vision with a commitment few have displayed…Little Steven LETS IT ROCK!” – Bruce Springsteen
“Stevie Van Zandt is the ultimate Rock ’n’ Roll soldier, an eyewitness to history who has made plenty of his own in the trenches and the studio.” – David Fricke, Rolling Stone
“Whether serving as a musical foil to the Boss or right-hand man to a crime boss,
Stevie Van Zandt, aka Little Steven, has proven himself one of the most reliable consiglieres
in both real and fictional New Jersey pop culture history.”
– Entertainment Weekly
“One of rock’s most diverse and exciting careers.” – FORBES
“Imagine Asbury Park, New Jersey encompassing an entire musical planet and you’ll have an
idea of what Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul are doing… It’s all but impossible not to be
impressed by the scope of Little Steven’s vision, and the skill with which he and his collaborators
bring it to fruition. And he still knows how to write a song that speaks from his heart,
regardless of what is on his mind.” – AllMusic
ABOUT STEVIE VAN ZANDT:
Stevie Van Zandt is a musician, performer, songwriter, arranger, music producer, music supervisor, TV producer, actor, director, Broadway producer, TV and film composer, live event producer, international DJ, activist, historian, teacher, member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and is recognized internationally as one of the world’s foremost authorities on both contemporary and classicrock and soul.
After helping create the “Jersey Shore” sound with the Asbury Jukes, he became founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, co-producing the seminal albums, The River and Born in the U.S.A.Van Zandt went on to become a successful solo artist in his own right, recording and performing with his band Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, while also producing albums for Darlene Love, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, The Cocktail Slippers, The Breakers, and more. Van Zandt’s first solo album as Little Steven in close to two decades, 2017’s Soulfire saw him revisiting songs that spanned the length of his career. Van Zandt and his 15 piece big band spent nearly two years traveling the world on the Soulfire Tour, followed in 2019 by another landmark LP, the acclaimed Summer of Sorcery.
Van Zandt co-starred in all seven seasons of The Sopranos, playing “Silvio Dante,” a principal character that he created. He starred in, co-wrote, executive produced, provided the music supervision and scoring, and directed (the final episode) for the award-winning series Lilyhammer, which made history as the first original programming for Netflix.
In 1999, Van Zandt founded Renegade Nation to oversee content creation, production, management, live events, and distribution. Three years later saw the launch of their flagship brand, Little Steven’s Underground Garage. The internationally syndicated radio show airs every week and has introduced over 700 new bands to the world over more than 750 weekly episodes. In 2004, SiriusXM recruited Van Zandt to create its first original content, beginning with the hugely popular Little Steven’s Underground Garagechannel, followed by the equally successful Outlaw Country. Van Zandt founded his garage rock label, Wicked Cool Records, the following year.
Among his many philanthropic actions, Van Zandt is the founder of TeachRock, a standards-aligned, arts integration curriculum that uses the history of popular music and culture to help teachers engage students. 2021 also saw the publication of Van Zandt’s best-selling first memoir, Unrequited Infatuations (Hachette Books).
For more, please visit www.littlesteven.com.