Sony Music Publishing Launches Co-Venture Second Songs 20 Jan 2022
SMP partners with industry veterans Caroline Elleray and Mark Gale to launch Second Songs
Sony Music Publishing UK today announced its partnership with creative executives Caroline Elleray and Mark Gale to form Second Songs. Under the joint leadership of Elleray and Gale, the new publishing venture will sign and develop both emerging and established songwriters alongside Sony Music Publishing.
Second Songs also announced the launch of its management arm, with songwriter/producer Steph Marziano its first signing. Steph Marziano has co-written songs for a variety of artists including Hayley Williams, Matilda Mann, Denai Moore and recently produced an album for Fatherson. Marziano was also nominated for UK Writer-Producer of the Year at the Music Producer Guild (MPG) awards last year.
“Caroline and Mark’s reputations speak for themselves, but what is most exciting and inspiring about Second Songs is the prospect of them bringing all of their experience, energy, know-how and talent into a venture of their own design,” said Tim Major, Co-Managing Director, Sony Music Publishing UK. “They are passionate and caring executives who live and breathe music and relentlessly support the careers of the people that they work with. Their ethos for the Second Songs publishing venture chimes beautifully with our own – from creating an environment where the songwriter is always put first to helping to nurture young talent into the industry – and we are thrilled to be partnering with them.”
Caroline Elleray commented, “We are incredibly excited to be launching this partnership and have been immensely impressed by the people we have met at Sony Music Publishing. Their approach under the leadership of Jon, Tim and David is inspiring. Mark and I have always advocated for and championed the songwriters and artists we have signed with passion and unwavering belief. We hope to continue to foster this culture with Second Songs and are humbled by the support SMP has shown us.”
“Steph is a wonderful person and hugely talented. We share similar music taste and the same ethics and ethos, which is essential to us as we grow our business into a modern, forward thinking music company,” said Gale.
As A&R experts with two decades of publishing experience from their time at UMPG, Elleray and Gale have previously signed artists and songwriters including Coldplay, The XX, Keane, Mumford & Sons, Rex Orange County, Little Simz, Bastille, Chvrches, Jin Jin, Sigala, Tom Misch, Laura Mvula and Matt Hales. Elleray is also a previous recipient of the prestigious MBW Sir George Martin Award which recognizes excellence in A&R.
In addition to supporting songwriters and producers, Elleray and Gale aim to support the next generation of industry professionals through Second Songs’ involvement with ‘In The Loop’. Working with Zeon Richards at Renowned and Maia Drummond, ‘In the Loop’ helps to create career pipelines for aspiring young music industry professionals.
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THE HEADLINES
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What does the #CryptoCrash mean for web3 and music? (see Comment)
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BMG and Warner Music bidding to buy Pink Floyd’s catalogue (see Deals)
MMF: "What is currently an opaque black box of song royalties, needs to be transformed into a glass box" (see Opinion)
MMF publishes Song Royalties Manifesto (see News)
Girl bands made British pop great – so where have all the good ones gone? (see Features)
More on myth that 60,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify daily (see Analysis)
Travel limits on international music tours to be eased (see News)
Music industry earnings 2021: Riding the wave (see Analysis)
Copyright Royalty Board asked to approve 32% increase on mechanical royalties (see International)
Streaming is not the future of the music economy (see Opinion)
Research confirms the majors benefit most from Spotify's curated playlists (see Analysis)
Report: Women in Music 2022 (see Analysis)
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SoundCloud acquires Musiio (see Digital)
How TikTok’s evolution can help artists grow (see Analysis)
Black women are finding their voice against abuse in the music industry (see Comment)
Spotify shares now selling at less than the IPO price four years ago (see Analysis)