Songwriter and producer Autumn Rowe, who’s signed a publishing deal with Spirit Music Group. Photo Credit: Jen Rosenstein
Roughly four months after Lyric Capital announced the close of an $800 million song fund, its Spirit Music Group subsidiary has inked a “worldwide publishing deal” with veteran songwriter Autumn Rowe.
Spirit Music emailed Digital Music News about its newest agreement – which extends to “select catalog” and is likewise “a go-forward publishing deal” – today. Among Range Media-managed Rowe’s songwriting credits are Alexis Jordan’s “Happiness,” Kylie Minogue’s “Sexy Love,” and Ava Max’s “Salt,” to name a few.
Additionally, the Songwriters of North America (SONA) board member Rowe penned several tracks on Jon Batiste’s We Are, which took home the “Album of the Year” award at the 2022 Grammys. In a statement regarding the just-revealed tie-up, Rowe thanked the Spirit Music team and disclosed her high hopes for the partnership, the precise terms of which haven’t been publicly identified.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue doing what I love with such a supportive and respected group of music publishers and look forward to doing great things together,” the Songwriter Fund co-founder Rowe said in part.
And in remarks of his own, Spirit Music chairman (and Lyric Capital managing partner) Jon Singer described New York City-born Rowe as “exactly the type of partner we look to work with.”
“Autumn is an undeniably talented writer and producer who has worked with some of the biggest names in the world,” communicated Singer. “On top of that, she’s a remarkable advocate for the interests of songwriters and producers and exactly the type of partner we look to work with. We’re thrilled to welcome Autumn to the Spirit Music Group family and to have the opportunity to represent her as her publisher.”
Last year, Spirit Music bought the recorded catalog of country star Jason Aldean, and if the initially mentioned $800 million tranche is any indication, the entity (along with Lyric) is poised to keep on announcing high-profile plays and agreements moving forward. More broadly, in addition to delivering multiple noteworthy publishing deals, 2023’s opening half has brought with it no shortage of catalog buyouts.
To be sure, June and July’s beginning alone have seen Universal Music Group (which is reportedly pursuing the acquisition of Queen’s body of work), AP Music Royalties, BlackRock-backed Influence Media Partners, Armada Music’s dance-focused BEAT, Carlyle Global Credit-backed Litmus Music, Reservoir Media, Multimedia Music, Primary Wave, Peermusic, BMG, CTM Outlander, and others yet announce catalog purchases.