Primary Wave (company)


Primary Wave is one of the most dynamic private music publishing and talent management companies in the world, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Austin, and Nashville. Primary Wave was founded in January 2006 by music executive Lawrence Mestel. Since its origin as a music publishing company, Primary Wave has grown its business into a full service music company with additional in-house resources supporting music publishing, talent management, film & TV production, digital marketing, and branding.

History

2006–2015: Early years

Primary Wave Music Publishing was founded in 2006 after an introduction of Courtney Love to founder Lawrence Mestel, resulted in the purchase of 50% of Kurt Cobain's portion of the Nirvana catalog. In years to come, the Nirvana purchase would galvanize Primary Wave's acquisitions of Chicago, Albert Hammond Jr., Bo Diddley, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Lamont Dozier, Hall & Oates, Def Leppard, and Maurice White's publishing catalogs.
Catalog acquisitions evolved to Primary Wave providing services in synchronization licensing and placements in film, TV, advertising, video games, and new media. Primary Wave soon began to execute creative licensing deals for their publishing clients. In 2008, Primary Wave formed a deal with Converse to create a limited edition run of Kurt Cobain sneakers, which included graphic designs, his signature, and song lyrics on the sneakers. In 2009, Primary Wave executed an Aerosmith marketing campaign with the 1st-ever artist branded scratch-off lottery ticket across 11 states in the United States. The lottery tickets featured Aerosmith's likeness and was promoted by a TV campaign featuring the band's iconic rock anthem, "Dream On". Part of the campaign allowed fans to scratch off prizes such as free concert tickets, backstage passes, and even a private performance by the band. That same year, Primary Wave created an animated cartoon J.Stache, based on John Oates of Hall & Oates' signature mustache, which debuted on Funny or Die. In 2012, Primary Wave partnered with Boom! Studios and Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment to release underground musician and artist Daniel Johnston's debut graphic novel, Space Ducks: An Infinite Comic Book of Musical Greatness.

2016–present: Acquisitions

Currently, one of the largest indie music publishers in the United States, Primary Wave markets the copyrights of over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of legendary and contemporary artists and songwriters.
The platform for a second phase of expansion was established in 2016, when Primary Wave received $300 million of funding from multiple large institutional investors, forming Primary Wave's first music based fund. Almost immediately, Primary Wave purchased Smokey Robinson's catalogue for $25 million, which includes his songs "My Girl", "The Tears of a Clown", and You've Really Got a Hold on Me. In October 2017, Primary Wave helped Smokey Robinson create Father–Daughter Day, a national holiday celebrating the relationship between a father and his daughter. The holiday was announced along with a series of American Greetings "My Girl" e-cards featuring Smokey Robinson.
By 2017, Primary Wave acquired a stake in Rough Trade Publishing for $5 million and acquired music catalogs such as Steve Cropper, Tom Cochrane, and Holly Knight. Later that year in August, Primary Wave acquired publishing and master royalties from Glenn Gould, a Canadian 20th-century classical pianist.
In January 2018, Primary Wave acquired an 80 percent share in Chris Blackwell's Blue Mountain Music, one of the largest independent publishers, which included the rights to Bob Marley. The Blue Mountain Music acquisition also includes songs by Toots and the Maytals, Free, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, and Marianne Faithfull. That same month, Primary Wave closed a marketing and publishing administration deal with Alice Cooper, singer of "School's Out", "I'm Eighteen", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", and "Poison".
It was announced in October 2018 that Primary Wave closed a deal with Kenny Loggins for marketing, branding and publishing administration. "Footloose", "I'm Alright", and "Danger Zone" are a few of the songs in Loggins catalog that were included in the deal. That same month, Primary Wave acquired Pete Waterman's catalog, British producer and songwriter of "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Together Forever", and "I Should Be So Lucky". Primary Wave also acquired the entirety of Count Basie's publishing and master income streams. The music assets include copyrights and royalty streams of compositions written by Basie such as "One O'Clock Jump" and "Jumpin' at the Woodside". Aerosmith songwriter and bassist, Tom Hamilton, partnered with Primary Wave in November 2018 on a publishing agreement for an undisclosed sum. Hamilton has co-written some of Aerosmith's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted songs including "Sweet Emotion" and "Janie's Got a Gun." In December 2018, Primary Wave bought passive writer income streams of hugely influential band Sly and the Family Stone for an undisclosed sum.
In January 2019, Primary Wave passed a billion dollars with the establishment of its second investment fund with cash and assets under management. In that same year, DJ White Shadow entered into an administration and co-publishing deal with Primary Wave. DJ White Shadow has worked closely with Lady Gaga over the years, including on her songs "The Edge of Glory", "Born This Way", and six songs that appeared on the A Star Is Born soundtrack. In February 2019, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Paul Anka entered into a multi-million-dollar strategic partnership with Primary Wave. The publishing agreement covers Anka's master rights to "My Way", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", "Diana", and "Lonely Boy". That same month, Bill Gaither and Gloria Gaither of Gaither Music Group closed a publishing agreement with Primary Wave. The agreement includes their chart topping songs, "He Touched Me" and "Because He Lives". In March 2019, it was announced that Primary Wave acquired a stake in the music catalog of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. "That's All Right", "My Baby Left Me", and "So Glad You're Mine" are some of Crudup's biggest hits, all of which were recorded by Elvis Presley. In April 2019, Primary Wave partnered with the estate of Leon Russell to acquire his music publishing and master recording income streams. Included in the deal is one of Russell's most well-known tracks, "A Song for You". It was announced in July 2019 that Dave Navarro and Primary Wave entered into an agreement where Primary Wave acquired a stake in Navarro's music publishing catalog, master royalties streams, and writer's share royalties. Navarro is a member of Jane's Addiction and was a member of Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1993–1998. His credits include "Been Caught Stealing", "Jane Says", and "Aeroplane". In September 2019, Primary Wave acquired the music publishing of Boston's self-titled debut album from its former manager Paul Ahern. The album sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and featured "More Than a Feeling". In October 2019, Tommy Shaw of Styx entered into a music publishing agreement with Primary Wave, which covers the copyrights and income streams of some of Styx's songs including "Renegade" and "Too Much Time on My Hands". That same month, Primary Wave acquired the rights of producer, arranger, and songwriter Bob Ezrin. Ezrin produced albums with Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Kiss, and more. Primary Wave entered into a marketing and music publishing administration agreement with Robbie Robertson in November 2019. Robbie Robertson's most notably connected to his work with The Band, including songs "Up On Cripple Creek", "Rag Mama Rag", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", which is considered to be one of the greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone.
In May 2019, Primary Wave closed a reported milti-million dollar deal with British band Culture Club, led by frontman Boy George. The acquisition included a portion of the band's publishing and master recording income stream.
That same month, Primary Wave announced their partnership with the estate of Whitney Houston, having acquired a stake in her master recording income stream along with her name, likeness, and brand. Whitney Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 200 million records sold worldwide. Houston released seven studio albums and two soundtracks, all of which have been certified diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold by the RIAA. Her cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is the biggest-selling single of all time by a female artist. In the agreement, Primary Wave assists the Estate with all aspects of marketing, including digital marketing, publicity, branding, and music licensing and synchronization. On June 28, 2019, Kygo remixed Whitney Houston's unreleased cover version of Steve Winwood's song "Higher Love". On August 21, 2019, "Higher Love" reached the No. 1 position on Billboard magazine's Dance Club Songs chart, making it Houston's highest-charting posthumous release to date. "Higher Love" has been streamed over 252 million times on Spotify as of January 2, 2020.
In early 2020, Primary Wave acquired a stake in Air Supply's music publishing catalog. The acquisition included copyrights to their songs "All Out Of Love", "Lost In Love", and others. It was announced in March of 2020 that Primary Wave and legendary composer Burt Bacharach entered into a marketing and publishing deal to support Bacharach's music catalog, which includes nine No. 1 hits, 48 top 10 hits, and more than 500 compositions. The following month, it was announced that Primary Wave acquired a stake in the music publishing rights and recording revenue of the songs and recordings by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Justin Hayward of the legendary English rock band The Moody Blues. In May 2020, it was announced that Primary Wave purchased a majority stake in Ray Charles' catalog of music dated pre-1964. Terms of the agreement include Charles' "I've Got a Woman" and "Ain't That Love." In June 2020, it was announced that Primary Wave acquired the music publishing catalog of rock band Godsmack. The acquisition includes the publishing and master income stream for their compositions and masters from their entire catalog, including the Grammy-nominated single I Stand Alone.

Divisions

Roster

Notable works

The Primary Wave Music Publishing catalog is home to some of the most iconic songwriters and artists across the history of recorded music, as well as contemporary singers and songwriters.
Some iconic songs in Primary Wave's catalog include "The Tears of a Clown", "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", "Get Ready", "My Girl", and "Cruisin'" by ; " The Dock of the Bay" by ; "Piano in the Dark" and "Get Here" by ; "Sunny" by ; " Close to You" and "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by Burt Bacharach; and "Lost In Love" by Air Supply.
Some contemporary songs in Primary Wave's catalog include: "Needed Me" and "Cheers" performed by Rihanna; "Be Alright" performed by Ariana Grande; "Mirror Man" performed by Ella Henderson; "Lost on You" written and performed by LP; "Untitled 06" performed by Kendrick Lamar; "Don't Cha" performed by The Pussycat Dolls; "Blow Your Mind " performed by Dua Lipa; "Hard Love" performed by Needtobreathe; "Fight Song" performed by Rachel Platten; "My House" performed by Flo Rida; "Heart Attack" performed by Demi Lovato; "Heartbeat Song" and "Love So Soft" performed by Kelly Clarkson; "Barcelona", "Galway Girl", "Nancy Mulligan", and "What Do I Know?", performed by Ed Sheeran; "A No No" performed by Mariah Carey; and "Worth It” performed by Fifth Harmony.
YearSongArtistWriter
1979"Cruisin'"Smokey RobinsonSmokey Robinson, Marv Tarplin
1991"Life Is a Highway"Tom CochraneTom Cochrane
1970"All Right Now" FreeAndy Fraser and Paul Rodgers
1968"Everyday People"Sly and the Family StoneSly Stone
1976"Foreplay/Long Time"BostonTom Scholz
1976"More Than a Feeling"BostonTom Scholz
1965"My Girl"The TemptationsSmokey Robinson
1976"A Song For You"Leon RussellLeon Russell
1976"Peace of Mind"BostonTom Scholz
1975"Why Can't We Be Friends?"WarPapa Dee Allen, Harold Ray Brown, B. B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard E. Scott
1979"Renegade"StyxTommy Shaw
1982"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"Culture ClubRoy Hay, Boy George, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss
1987"Never Gonna Give You Up"Rick AstleyPete Waterman
1987"Put Your Records On"Corinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey Rae, John Beck, Steve Chrisanthou
1968" The Dock of the Bay"Otis ReddingSteve Cropper and Otis Redding
1966"In the Midnight Hour"Wilson PickettWilson Pickett and Steve Cropper
1963"Piano in the Dark"Brenda RussellBrenda Russell, Jeff Hull, Scott Cutler
1969"Superstar"Delaney & BonnieBonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell
1975"It Makes No Difference"The BandRobbie Robertson
1980"Redemption Song"Bob Marley and the WailersBob Marley
1980"Three Little Birds"Bob Marley and the WailersBob Marley
1989"The Best"Tina TurnerMike Chapman and Holly Knight
1967"The Tears of a Clown"The MiraclesHank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder
1965"The Tracks of My Tears"The MiraclesSmokey Robinson, Warren Moore, Marvin Tarplin
1983"Love Is a Battlefield"Pat BenatarMike Chapman and Holly Knight
1987"Pour Some Sugar on Me"Def LeppardJoe Elliott, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Phil Collen, Steve Clark, Rick Savage
1978"Fooling Yourself "StyxTommy Shaw
2011"No Church in the Wild"Kanye West and Jay-ZSpooky Tooth
1980"Come Fly with Me"Frank SinatraSammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen
1967"I Say A Little Prayer"Dionne WarwickBurt Bacharach, Hal David
1964" Always Something There to Remind Me"Lou JohnsonBurt Bacharach, Hal David
1970" Close to You"The CarpentersBurt Bacharach, Hal David
1965"What the World Needs Now Is Love"Jackie DeShannonBurt Bacharach, Hal David
1959"Put Your Head on My Shoulder"Paul AnkaPaul Anka
1960"Puppy Love"Paul AnkaPaul Anka

Select publishing clients over the years

Established in 2006, the Primary Wave Pre-Grammy Party is a noteworthy entertainment industry event held annually the evening before the Grammy Awards. The party was established in 2006 Primary Wave's in-house brand marketing agency. Through the years, party sponsors have included Smirnoff, Candy Crush Saga, Nivea, A. T. Cross Company, Ocean Spray, Steve Madden, Absolut Vodka, and American Greetings.
This is an invitation only red carpet party, frequented by clients, staff, and partners of Primary Wave, as well as industry executives and celebrities.
Aside from Primary Wave's A-list clientele, guests in years past have included: Post Malone, Alice Cooper, Ashanti, Cedric the Entertainer, Deborah Cox, Zendaya, Kerry Gordy, Ray J, Taraji P. Henson, Ace Hood, Bai Ling, Jonathan Bennett, Mýa, Natasha Bedingfield, Twista, and more.
Notable DJs have included DJ Cassidy, CeeLo Green, DJ Kalkutta, and DJ White Shadow.

Awards and nominations

In 2020, Primary Wave's CEO, Lawrence Mestel was recognized on Billboards annual "Power List," highlighting music industry executives whose work elevates the entire music business.
In 2014, Justin Shukat, President of Primary Wave Music Publishing, was recognized on Billboards "40 Under 40 Power Players" list, ranking music executives on the rise. In 2018, both Shukat and Mestel were recognized on the annual "Indie Power Players" list, ranking the top independent record executives. Senior Vice President of Creative, Marty Silverstone was recognized on Billboards "Branding Power Players" list for two years in a row, 2018 and 2019. In 2019, President of Digital Strategy, Robert Dippold, was named as one of Billboards "Digital Power Players" on their annual list that highlights the work of those responsible for driving the success of the music business through the use of digital data.
In 2019, Larry Mestel was honored by Goldman Sachs as one of their "100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs" at the annual Goldman Sachs Builders & Inventors Summit.

Advocacy

Primary Wave employees are represented across multiple cause-driven organizations related to both music and goodwill. As a company, Primary Wave is a member of the National Music Publishers Association in the United States, an organization which safeguards and promotes the interests of music publishers and songwriters to government bodies, the music industry, the media, and the public.
President of Primary Wave Music Publishing, Justin Shukat, is the founder of the Shukat Foundation, with support from Michelle Sullivan and founding benefactor Yoko Ono. The Shukat Foundation is a mentoring fellowship program for music executives on the rise.
Additionally, Primary Wave employees are represented as members of The Recording Academy and the Guild of Music Supervision.