Simon Cowell, Syco Entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing Group announce the launch of SYCO Publishing, focused on nurturing rising songwriters.
Simon Cowell and Syco Entertainment, the pioneers behind the world’s most successful talent discovery formats and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), have announced the launch of SYCO Publishing, a boutique publisher dedicated to supporting and developing global songwriting talent.
Through the collaboration, SYCO Publishing will sign and develop songwriters and catalogs to be administered and supported exclusively through UMPG. Additionally, the initiative will create new opportunities for its writers to work across Cowell’s extensive network of projects and media formats.
“There is nothing more important than a great song,” said Cowell. “I started my career in music publishing. Mike (McCormack) and Universal have given me the chance to build a music publishing company. They are a brilliant company and share my wish to work with amazing songwriters.”
Upon launch, SYCO Publishing is already home to songwriters Lucy Spraggan and John Samuel Gerhart, in addition to the song catalog rights for hits from Fifth Harmony, James Arthur, Grace VanderWaal, and Camila Cabello. They also possess rights to songs performed by artists including Machine Gun Kelly, Major Lazer, Ed Sheeran, Mark Ronson, and Shawn Mendes.
“Simon has been a good friend for decades, and I’m thrilled he has finally decided to launch a publishing business with UMPG. His track record is incredible — he’s always had great instincts and passion for outstanding songs and brings incredible value to every songwriter, producer, and catalog he works with,” said Mike McCormack, MD of UMPG UK. “The UMPG team looks forward to working closely with Simon on SYCO Publishing and providing the best global support to develop tomorrow’s stars.”
SYCO Publishing is the second songwriting-focused project launched collaboratively by Syco Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Last year, the companies teamed up to launch StemDrop, a creative platform for musical collaboration, curation, and artist discovery, which launched exclusively with TikTok and Samsung.