Photo by Dmitri Sadovnikov (CC BY-SA 3.0)
On November 4, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) announced that it had completed a global administration agreement with Farrell Music, which is the publishing company of British pop star Robbie Williams.
The agreement covers not just Williams’ current music catalog but also any future songs he may write. It comes just prior to the release of the singer’s 13th studio album, which is also his first Christmas-themed recording. Scheduled to come out before the end of the year, the double album includes both original compositions and cover songs.
The deal should not come as much of a surprise, as the U.K. managing director of UMPG, Mike McCormack, was the person who first signed Williams back in the beginning of the 1990s. The signing was made when Williams was part of the pop group Take That. McCormack, who at the time was working for Virgin Music, says of Williams: “Even then, he was a huge personality and a pleasure to work with. He’s gone on to become a global superstar and an incredible songwriter — so it’s a privilege to represent all these great songs and the new material he will be writing in the future.”
Robbie Williams remained with Take That until 1995, releasing 3 albums with the group while having a number of hit songs, such as “Back for Good” and “Never Forget.”
In 1997, he started his solo career. Then, 20 years later, he surpassed the record for the most No. 1 albums in the U.K. by a British solo act. This came after he was inducted in the U.K. Music Hall of Fame back in 2004.
Recent achievements include appearing as a judge for the 15th season of the U.K. edition of X Factor and performing last year at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Russia.
All together, Williams has won 18 Brit Awards, 5 Ivor Novello Awards and a pair of MTV Video Music Awards.
Why does this story use a photo of Morrissey? Oh, wait…