Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global administration deal with influential singer-songwriter and musician Liz Phair. The agreement includes her full music catalog, including hits like “Why Can’t I?,” “Supernova,” and “Never Said.” With a career spanning over three decades, Phair is known for being a key player in the underground early 90s indie rock movement. Her iconic 1993 debut studio album, Exile In Guyville, has been marked as a classic feminist landmark and continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.
On signing with WCM, Liz Phair said: “My songs represent my life’s work, and I am excited to take a fresh look at my catalog with the support of such a unique and maverick team at Warner Chappell, co-headed by the charismatic Carianne Marshall.”
Carianne Marshall, WCM Co-Chair and COO, shared: “Liz has always embraced her true self, releasing songs that were ahead of her time. She opened doors for women in music in the 90s, ushering in a new era of rock and roll with her bold, empowering lyrics and trailblazing sound. She continues to influence music today, and we're proud to be working together to introduce even more audiences to her incredible songs.”
Greg Sowders, WCM SVP, A&R and Catalog, added: “Liz's songs and records changed the way songwriters and artists wrote and recorded in the 90s. She single handedly helped forge the alternative music genre, and her work is more relevant today than it was when she first changed all the rules. There are many more great things in store for Liz and her career as she takes on this next chapter.”
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in Chicago, Liz Phair first pursued a musical career in San Francisco after graduating from Oberlin College in 1990. She later returned to Chicago, where she began songwriting and self-releasing audio tapes under the name Girly-Sound, which led to a record deal with Matador Records. In 1993, she released her debut studio album, Exile in Guyville, which received instant recognition for its raw and honest lyrics of gender and relationships. The album is now regarded as an iconic work and continues to resonate today, recently reaching the top ten of Pitchfork’s “Best 150 Albums of the 1990s” (No. 4) and the top 100 of Rolling Stone’s “Best 500 Albums of All Time” (No. 56). Last year, Phair celebrated the 30th anniversary of the record and launched a U.S. tour with a full band to perform Exile In Guyville in its entirety at some of the largest venues of her career.
In the years following Exile In Guyville, Phair has continued to defy expectations and break barriers. She released several other albums, including Whip-Smart (1994) and whitechocolatespaceegg (1998), which both earned GRAMMY nominations for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and has sold over five million records worldwide. In 2018, Matador Records reissued Exile in Guyville as a deluxe box set, including the remastered original album and the first official restored audio of 1991’s Girly-Sound tapes – early Phair works that were self-released on cassette. On her most recent full-length album, Soberish (2021), Phair reunited with Exile in Guyville producer Brad Wood.
Phair has also written for TV as well as authored the memoir Horror Stories (2021), further solidifying her legacy as a multifaceted artist.
Photo Credit: Eszter + David
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