Sony Music Entertainment ("SME") and Artist Legacy Group, LLC ("ALG") have entered into a joint venture agreement. This was announced by Adam Block, President of Legacy Recordings, SME's catalog music division.
The venture, which will operate under the ALG name, will engage in all business aspects of artist brand management including—but not limited to—licensing, branding strategy and merchandising, focusing initially on artist estates. ALG will provide artist and estate brand management services to Legacy Recordings and other front line SME labels while also remaining open to opportunities outside the SME ecosystem.
ALG principals Ashley Austin and Scott Austin will provide their services and expertise to the joint venture, which will be based in New York City and operate under the auspices of SME's Commercial Music Group ("CMG") with SME's interest in the venture being managed by Block.
SME/CMG and ALG will pool resources and work together to provide comprehensive brand management services to active artists, musicians, their estates and music-related business concerns looking to establish creative blueprints that enhance and extend their traditional branding initiatives.
In addition, ALG will work with Arcade, SME's in-house creative agency, and Threadshop, SME's in-house merchandising company, to provide access to a variety of services as an extension of its core business.
"SME/CMG's vision for expanding its service offerings to include brand management and development is an incredibly intuitive and forward-thinking strategy," said ALG CEO Ashley Austin. "ALG prides itself on proactive protection and promotion of our clients' unique legacies, and we are thrilled to embark on this joint venture. Working closely with Adam Block and the SME/CMG family will allow for the creation of new and exciting opportunities across the board."
Austin, ALG's Chief Operating Officer elaborates, "Intellectual property rights management plays an integral role in successful, comprehensive marketing strategies in today's entertainment industry. By working closely with Sony Music affiliates, ALG will provide unparalleled levels of service to our clients and maximize the impact of campaigns surrounding their name, likeness, media and other content."
"The venture is particularly exciting for Legacy because it will allow us to offer easy access to a broader, more mutually beneficial menu of services to our artists," said Block. "Legacy has spent the last 25 years refining our skills at developing and reinforcing the ideas of our artists and their music and video content—for the context of this conversation, helping to develop and build our artist's 'brands'—with the limited rights most of our contracts allow. Combining our experience with ALG's growing expertise in the broader brand management space, as well as our in-house merch company, Threadshop, and our creative agency, Arcade, we see a terrific opportunity to create even greater awareness and opportunities for the artists and estates we'll work with."
Services provided by ALG will include sourcing and securing merchandising opportunities, social media management, sourcing and securing print (book, magazines, posters) and/or film opportunities (e.g. biopics) and more.
Current ALG clients include legendary music photographer Mick Rock; the estate of The Who's drummer Keith Moon; and Max's Kansas City, the New York music venue, which served as the epicenter of pop art, punk, glam rock and underground cultural cool from 1965-1982.
For more information, visit legacyrecordings.com.
