Kool & The Gang is next up on a leading publisher’s growing list.
Primary Wave Music announced via its website that the founding member and songwriter George Brown has signed a “multi-million-dollar” catalog deal.
Within the deal, the company has acquired a stake in Brown’s music publishing catalog, writer’s share, and writer’s share of public performance.
“I am very pleased to call Primary Wave my music partner and to join with dozens of other iconic artists and creatives in an incredible business family,” Brown shared in a press statement.
He continued, “I look forward to collaborating with Larry Mestel and the entire Primary Wave team to further enhance my catalog and the Kool & The Gang brand.”
The deal includes Kool & The Gang’s hits such as “Get Down on It,” “Celebration,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Cherish,” and “Ladies Night.” In addition, according to Primary Wave, Brown “has access to its marketing team and publishing infrastructure, which includes digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities, and film & TV production.”
“As counsel to George Brown and Astana Music, it was my pleasure to initiate, negotiate and close this deal with Primary Wave,” Kendall A. Minter said in a press statement. “The alignment of a globally iconic artist and creative talent with an iconic, global independent music publisher and brand enhancer is a win-win for the entire music community and fans.”
Kool & The Gang is known as one of the most influential groups of our time. As previously reported by AfroTech, they have been sampled over 1,800 times.
“I’m very, very honored by colleagues, wherever they may be, when they start sampling,” Brown told AfroTech during an interview. “We are the No. 1 sampled band and because of my beats, I’m the No. 1 sampled drummer and, you know, I didn’t even realize that until interviewers started coming by and saying that. I don’t… my mind doesn’t think like that.”
The announcement of the catalog deal comes just ahead of the release of Kool & The Gang’s new album “People Just Wanna Have Fun,” which is set to drop on July 14, 2023.