Producer JW Lucas recently made a series of unfortunate statements on social media—notably accusations about the late Breonna Taylor that seemed to equivocate on the injustice of her killing at the hands of police. Warner Chappell Music has now decided to part ways with him. “We won’t be working with JW Lucas going forward,” said a spokesperson.
Lucas, who is white, has worked with such artists as Lil Uzi Vert, Pop Smoke and DaBaby; after his remarks about Taylor, he further exacerbated the situation by claiming he’d make a better leader of the Black Lives Matter movement than activist Tamika Mallory. These inflammatory statements caused many to suggest that he should no longer profit from black artists or black consumers. (Lucas subsequently issued a low-key apology to Taylor’s family, which was largely felt to be too little, too late.)
We’ve heard that some very thoughtful conversations preceded WCM’s decision in this matter. Recent events have underscored the importance of keeping everyone in our community as safe as possible—and this sort of intolerant rhetoric has no place.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville has extended its worldwide publishing agreement with Jon Pardi.
Pardi is known for “Dirt On My Boots,” “Head Over Boots” and “Heartache On The Dance Floor,” and his recent collaboration with Thomas Rhett on “Beer Can’t Fix.”
“Jon Pardi is a honky-tonk genius—his music is dynamic and captures every aspect of life and love, which is why his songs will remain timeless,” Sony/ATV Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston said.
Pardi noted, “Sony/ATV has been incredible to work with and has believed in me from the start. We all share in a unique, creative vision that has taken us to some incredible places, and I’m excited to keep that going.”
After a hand washing lesson and temperature checks, the Karma and Budde teams decided it would be OK to eliminate social distancing for a quick snapshot. Throwing caution to the wind are, from left, Budde Music’s Jess Nash, Jan-Simon Wolff, and Claudia Kollaender, Karma Songs’ Jordan Jay, Budde Music CEO Benjamin Budde, Karma Songs’ Barry Blue, Budde Music’s Ender Atis and Karma’s Ross Gautreau.
U.K. pubco Karma Songs has struck a joint venture with German independent publisher Budde Music to build a worldwide publishing venture focused on developing an exclusive roster of talent.
The deal covers all future Karma Songs copyrights plus administration of its catalog. Songs included in that span works recorded by Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, Bananarama, and the 90’s Top 3 hit "Escaping" by Dina Carroll.
The first signing to the new JV is singer/songwriter Nick Bradley who is managed by Sound Collective.
“We’ve been very impressed with Karma’s hands on and very creative style in working with songwriters, so it feels natural to finally work together,” Budde Music CEO Benjamin Budde said. “Budde Music will offer an extensive creative and administrative global network for Karma Songs and their songwriters."
Over the past three years, the publisher—which operates under Karma Artists Management—has had success worldwide with "Lo Malo" by Aitana and Ana Guerra, and the official Cricket World Cup 2019 single "Standby" by Loren and Rudimental, as well as publishing other major cuts with artists such as Tom Misch, Martin Solveig and The Vamps with their U.K. #1 album, Night & Day.
Karma Songs co-founder Jordan Jay added: “Karma and Budde Music share the same vision—this is the beginning of our ambition to further the global reach of our company in all areas of entertainment.”
