One Media iP acquires majority catalogue of late country star Don Williams

19 July 2021 - Press release

ONE MEDIA IP AGREES TERMS FOR MAJORITY CATALOGUE OF LATE COUNTRY STAR DON WILLIAMS - ‘THE GENTLE GIANT’ 

AROUND 200 SONGS, INCLUDING ALL 17 NO.1 HITS, WILL NOW BE MONITORED BY ONE MEDIA’S GROUND-BREAKING ‘TCAT’ ROYALTY STREAMING SOFTWARE 

THE DEAL IS A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO ONE MEDIA IP GROUP’S CATALOGUE ASSETS

 

 

One Media iP Group Plc (AIM: OMIP) has made one of its most significant music acquisitions to date, closing a deal for the majority catalogue of the late country music star, Don Williams.

Described by Rolling Stone Magazine as ‘one of the finest singers of the genre’, the deal covers Williams’ 1970s and ‘80s output, during which time he delivered seventeen No.1 hits and became a global superstar, winning fans from all over the world, especially in the UK. In 1975, The Who’s Pete Townshend covered Don’s No.1 hit ‘Till The Rivers All Run Dry’with Faces legend Ronnie Lane. Don’s 1978 hit ‘Tulsa Time’ was a regular on Eric Clapton’s live set, often jammed with contemporary stars such as Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.

 

One Media iP Group CEO Michael Infante said:

“There has been a steady rise in the popularity of country music in the UK and Europe, with events such as the Country 2 Country festival, which have drawn in huge crowds in recent years. Don Williams – like Johnny Cash – is revered by younger artists, which has in turn fed through to a new generation of fans. In life he was known as the Gentle Giant… and in his musical legacy we believe we have a Sleeping Giant, as fans of all generations are drawn to his timeless music.”

The deal was completed through One Media’s Harmony iP scheme which will make use of the firm’s advanced ‘Technical Copyright Analysis Tool’ (‘TCAT’), which utilises A.I software to monitor streams across digital music platforms such as Spotify, Amazon and iTunes with extreme accuracy. TCAT also identifies unauthorised use of copyrights, patrolling over 600 digital music stores across the world, 24 hours a day. Any illegal / unauthorised plays can be identified dating back up to 6 years and lost royalties can be recovered.

A 2019 study revealed the UK economy loses £9 billion to piracy annually. [PRS for Music]

 

CEO Michael Infante said:

“One Media will work in partnership with the Don Williams estate to ensure his legacy is protected and promoted for many years to come, with our state-of-the-art TCAT software.”

The deal completes a successful round of acquisitions from One Media iP Group. In January, the firm hit the headlines with its producer royalty share of Take That’s early hits. In May, ‘80s pop star Kid Creole and the Coconuts made national press and TV news as he signed a deal for his 250-song catalogue, citing the need to partner with One Media in order ‘to look after his coconuts way into the future’. In June, record producers Steve Levine (Culture Club) and Barry Blue (Heatwave) partnered with One Media for its ground-breaking TCAT technology, to help monitor and protect their works, including hits such as Culture Club’s ‘Karma Chameleon’ and Heatwave’s ‘Boogie Nights’.