Joey Tempest performing live. Photo Credit: Nicolas Valdes
Primary Wave has inked a partnership deal with Europe frontman Joey Tempest, and as part of the tie-up, the New York City-headquartered company now possesses a stake in the Stockholm native’s publishing catalog.
Primary Wave emailed DMN about its agreement with 59-year-old Joey Tempest today, roughly one month after acquiring the music IP of Skillet. Though the financial terms of the newly detailed pact haven’t been publicly revealed, Primary Wave disclosed that the transaction extends to “a portion of the singer’s music publishing catalog across five albums.”
These albums are presumably Europe’s first five projects: an eponymous 1983 debut effort, 1984’s Wings of Tomorrow, 1986’s The Final Countdown (including the namesake track, on which Tempest is the sole songwriter), 1988’s Out of This World, and 1991’s Prisoners in Paradise. (13 years passed before Europe, which is enjoying its “best tour in many, many years,” reunited and then followed the latter release with Start from the Dark.)
Besides “The Final Countdown,” which boasts at least 600 million Spotify streams and north of one billion YouTube views, The Final Countdown (and, in turn, the Primary Wave investment) encompasses “Rock the Night” (75 million Spotify streams), “Carrie” (203 million), and “Cherokee” (18 million). Tempest wrote each of the tracks, though Mic Michaeli also contributed to and is credited as a songwriter on “Carrie.”
Addressing his Primary Wave union in a statement, Tempest expressed the belief that the above-noted releases “are in good hands.”
“Feels great to add another partner to our team that will work and help spread the music,” said Tempest, who’s released three solo albums. “As a song writer it’s a privilege to have part of my catalog in the same place as one of my heroes, Bob Marley. I feel my songs are in good hands and will benefit from the experience and expertise of my new friends in New York.”
In addition to this latest partnership, Primary Wave has spearheaded a number of other noteworthy plays on the year – among them investments in the work of Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer and founding member Bob Burns, “I Will Remember You” singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, and “Since You Been Gone” creator Russ Ballard. Plus, April saw the company finalize a reportedly $100 million partnership and investment deal with India’s Times Music.
Meanwhile, notwithstanding a decline in blockbuster catalog sales and an adjacent transaction-volume falloff from certain well-entrenched players, the likes of Peermusic, BMG, CTM Outlander, Beyond Music, Anthem Entertainment, Reservoir Media, and AMR Songs have closed IP investments of their own during 2023’s opening half.