Publishing Briefs: Hipgnosis Acquires Emile Haynie Catalog, Sentric Acquires Big World Publishing & More

On Thursday (Jan. 9), Hipgnosis announced it had acquired the catalog of producer Emile Haynie, who has collaborated with a who’s who of pop and hip-hop acts including Lana Del Rey, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Adele and Bruno Mars. The deal includes 100% of Haynie’s worldwide copyrights, including publishing and writer share, in addition to producer royalty income streams of his 122-song catalog.

“I’m delighted to welcome Emile to the Hipgnosis family,” said Merck Mercuriadis, founder of The Family (Music) Limited and Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited. “He is one of the most influential producers of the last decade and with Lana Del Ray, Kid Cudi, Eminem, Bruno Mars, Fun and many others he has made important records that have inspired so many other great creators.”

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Haynie was represented in the deal by Neil Jacobson at Crescent Drive Productions and Renee Karalian at Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Bar & Karalian, LLP.   

Haynie’s catalogue includes his work as an executive producer on Kid Cudi’s landmark albums Man on the Moon: The End of Day and Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. He also produced Del Rey’s 2012 album Born to Die. Other credits include Adele’s diamond-certified album 25, Eminem’s Recovery, Fun’s Some Nights, and songs such as Mars’ seven-times-platinum single “Locked Out of Heaven,” West’s “Runaway” feat. Pusha T and Eminem’s “Headlights” feat. Nate Ruess.

U.K.-based independent music publisher Sentric Music Group has acquired Big World Publishing, the companies announced Monday (Jan. 13).

Founded in 2000 by Patrick Meads, Big World Publishing represents artists across a wide array of genres including funk, soul, jazz, Latin jazz, electronica, afro-funk, ambient, blues and reggae. Its roster includes Adam Gibbons (Lack Of Afro), Wax & Herbal T, Mother Earth and The New Mastersounds. The company’s song catalog includes Lack Of Afro’s “P.A.R.T.Y,” New Mastersounds’ “Whistle Song” and Marshall Hain’s “Dancing in the City.”

The acquisition also includes Big World’s reggae music catalog Music Like Dirt, which includes “Everything Crash” and “Good Ambition” by The Ethiopians, among others.

Meads, who will work on a consultancy basis for Sentric during the transition, said in a statement that he felt “it was the right time to move on.”

“After a long search for the right music publisher to continue representing the fantastic artists and writers in the catalogue, I found Sentric, who I firmly believe will continue the catalog’s growth and success in the future,” he added.

Sentric’s creative director Peter McCamley added that Sentric “will continue the fantastic work that has been done and look for even more opportunities moving forward.”

IRO, who won Season 1 of the NBC songwriting competition series Songland, has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Nashville-based SMACKSongs.

Originally hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, IRO was discovered while busking in a New York City subway station. He is best known for the Macklemore collaboration “Shadow,” which was featured on an episode of the series. He embarked on an extensive tour with the rapper, including a performance at Lollapalooza Brazil in April 2019.

SMACKSongs co-owner and CEO Shane McAnally paid tribute to IRO’s talents in a statement, calling him “a walking song.”

“I love seeing the world through his eyes and collaborating with him, and I can never wait to see where he goes next,” McAnally added. “I feel blessed and honored to have him in the SMACK family.”

“The SMACK team is filled with talent and really feels like a family,” said IRO in a statement. “I’m beyond excited to see and hear all of the things that will come out of this melting pot!”