Signed: Central Cee Pacts With Wasserman; El Alfa Strikes Eight-Figure Sound Royalties Deal

October 10, 2023 E Jazz Reporter

Artistes

Other ink this week: Mayer Hawthorne signs with MAC Agency, independent label Absolutely Kosher rises again and more.

Central Cee

Jimmy Fontaine

British rapper Central Cee (“Doja,” “Sprinter”) signed with Wasserman Music for global representation. His agents there are Brent Smith, Lauren Marker, Tom Schroeder and Jesse Fayne; he’s managed by Bello. The deal follows the rapper’s signing to Columbia Records and Sony Music U.K. in June.

Dominican rapper El Alfa (popularly known as “The King of Dembow”) signed an eight-figure deal with royalty-financing company Sound Royalties ahead of his forthcoming album, El Rey Del Dembow, as well as a multi-city tour slated for this fall. “This multi-million-dollar funding will be instrumental in continuing to build my legacy and cement my influence in the Latin music space,” said El Alfa in a statement. “Beyond that, it is foundational for promoting and marketing my music, launching new career opportunities, and releasing more work through my own music label, El Jefe Records.”

Singer-songwriter-producer-DJ Mayer Hawthorne signed with Las Vegas-based MAC Agency. Hawthorne recently announced a forthcoming tour as well as the release of his sixth studio album, For All Time, on Oct. 27. He made his MAC Agency debut at Vegas’ Park On Fremont last month. Hawthorne is managed by ATC Management and signed to P&L Records.

Independent record label Absolutely Kosher is relaunching after a 12-year absence with a slate of new releases and initiatives for the 25th anniversary of its founding. Releases announced at launch include new music from singer-songwriter-producer Charles Bissell — who released the album Meadowlands from his former band, the Wrens, on Absolutely Kosher in 2003 — now recording under the name Car Colors; as well as Sybris, the Chicago band that released its album Into the Trees on Absolutely Kosher in 2008. The reanimated label will also put out two previously-released albums on vinyl for the first time: Edinburgh School for the Death‘s New Youth Bible and Brabrabra‘s Mangooona. Absolutely Kosher has a global deal with Downtown Music Holdings’ FUGA for distribution.

Rock-pop outfit Hey Violet signed with Hopeless Records, which will release the group’s next single, “I Should Call My Friends,” on Friday (Oct. 13). Hey Violet was previously signed to Capitol Records. The band is represented by managers Joe Marro and Kirk Harrington at Lesser Matters and Lisa Schiffman at TBA Agency.

PPL signed Afrobeats star Libianca, producer-songwriter-artist Lewis Thompson and British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason for international royalty collections. PPL licenses recorded music when it gets played in public as well as on the radio or TV in the United Kingdom. It also collects neighboring rights royalties for performers and recording rightsholders when their music is played around the world through agreements with collective management organizations (CMOs) in other countries.

Hip-hop supergroup CZARFACE — comprised of Inspectah Deck, Esoteric and 7L — and its record label, Silver Age, signed a global deal with Virgin Music for the release of the group’s next studio album. The trio is managed by Dustin Winegardner.

Alt-pop singer BIZZY signed to Big Loud Rock, the alternative/rock imprint of Big Loud Records. The news was accompanied by her latest single, “I Don’t Get Breakups.” BIZZY is managed by Nicolette McCann at TWIST Music Group.

Big Loud Records also signed singer-songwriter Zandi Holup to its roster. Holup, who released the song “Gas Station Flowers” on Friday (Oct. 6), recently signed a publishing deal with Arthouse Entertainment and TurnTable Music in partnership with Universal Music Publishing. Her booking agents are Marissa Smith and Josh Garrett at UTA.

French psychedelic rock band SLIFT signed to Sub Pop, which will release the trio’s upcoming third album, ILION, on Jan. 19, 2024. The title track is now out on all digital service providers. SLIFT is managed by Hélène Maigné, who also handles the band’s booking in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and North America. Beth Morton and Oliver Ward at UTA are responsible for bookings in the rest of the world.

Singer-songwriter Ivan Theva signed to Descendent Records/Sony Music Entertainment, which will release his debut album, GARDENS, on Oct. 27. Theva is represented by Steve Ford at SF3 Management and Kevin Castleman at Reliant Talent for booking.

New York-based pop singer-songwriter Angélica Garcia signed to Partisan Records. The deal was announced along with the release of two new tracks: “Y Grito” and “El Que.” Garcia is managed by Tim Vigon and Riley Moriarty at Three Six Zero, with Frank Riley at High Road handling booking. She was previously signed to Spacebomb.

Country music trio The Castellows — comprised of sisters Ellie, Powell and Lily — signed with Make Wake Artists for management and WME for booking. According to a press release, the group has built a following of more than 1 million across social media platforms after releasing several covers highlighting their vocal harmonies. At Make Wake, Chris Kappy will serve as manager while HB Riordan will handle day-to-day. At WME, the band’s representatives will include Nashville office co-head/partner Joey Lee and agents Kanan Vitolo and Kevin Falck.

Alt-rock band House Parties signed with Equal Vision Records, which will release its forthcoming single, “Braindead,” on Thursday (Oct. 12). The band is represented by Josh Terry at Workshop Management and booking agent Brad Wiseman at Sequel Music Group.

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