Downtown Music Publishing signs Grammy-nominated artist & songwriter, Josh Ramsay

Deal will include multi-platinum hit single, ‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen 

Downtown Music Publishing (DMP) today announces a global music publishing agreement with Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer and lead vocalist of multi-platinum selling group Marianas Trench, Josh Ramsay.

Boasting a wealth of accolades and multiple strings to his bow, Canadian-born Ramsay has had a prolific career working extensively with heavy-hitting names including Nickelback, 5 Seconds of Summer (‘Story of Another Us’), Faber Drive and Danny Fernandez among others. With 2 Double Platinum Albums, 1 Platinum Album and 1 Gold Album under his belt, Ramsay found considerable fame for co–writing Carly Rae Jepsen’s Grammy-nominated hit, ‘Call Me Maybe’, of which he was a recipient of the SOCAN Award for “Most Performed Song in Socan history’.

Coined as a song that ‘defined the decade’, ‘Call Me Maybe’ was released in 2011 and has remained firmly embedded in global pop culture since. Benefiting from the rise of short-form video and user-generated content, the song - which hit 1 billion streams earlier this year with its accompanying music video reaching 1.5 billion views - has provided the soundtrack to nearly 100k viral videos as well as over a dozen movies and TV series.

Jonathan Simkin, Artist Manager at Simkin Artist Management has commented, “Josh Ramsay is one of the most talented artists I’ve worked with in my 30-year career in the entertainment business. Right from the first demo he ever sent me, I knew I was dealing with a rare and extraordinary talent. His musicality is unparalleled. His artistic versatility and ability to work in multiple genres has enabled him to work with many diverse acts. When it came time for us to decide who to work with, it was important that we found a group who had both the ability to protect and nurture Josh’s incredible catalog, but also be able to help with new opportunities, not just for the catalog, but also going forward for Josh as a writer and producer. Downtown’s interest in both the catalog and in the artist really made the difference.”

Downtown Music Publishing will provide global administration and creative services for Ramsay’s extensive catalog, which also includes ‘Sour Candy’ and ‘Guitar String/Wedding Ring’ by Carly Rae Jepsen - of which he co-wrote and produced both - and writing credits for ‘She Keeps Me Up’ and ‘Satellite’ released by Nickelback. The deal will also cover Josh Ramsay’s publishing share of multi-platinum selling group, Marianas Trench.

The group, which formed in 1999, has released 5 studio albums including ‘Masterpiece Theatre’

and ‘Ever After’ which both reached double-platinum status, with multiple singles including ‘Desperate Measures’, ‘Fallout’ and ‘Haven’t Had Enough’ reaching 3 x Platinum in Canada.

Ramsay joins a series of high-profile signings made by Downtown Music Publishing in the last twelve months. In March 2023, DMP announced a partnership with iconic alt-rock group The National, whose most recent studio album ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’ featured guest appearances from Sufjan Stevens, Phoebe Bridgers, and Taylor Swift — alongside deals with Alison Goldfrapp and Raja Kumari. The publisher also recently expanded its existing deal with Atticus Ross. Ross, also no stranger to global viral moments and pop culture, brings his share of Old Town Road, which in September 2021, became the second-ever highest certified song by the RIAA with a 16x platinum status in the United States.

Jedd Katrancha, Chief Commercial Officer of Downtown Music Publishing comments, ‘Downtown Music Publishing is proud to represent some of the most exceptional songwriting talent in the music business. Josh Ramsay has had a prolific career penning outstanding high-profile songs for a wealth of talent, including himself, and we look forward to working closely with Josh and his team, as well as continuing our work with Atticus Ross, to provide clients with our best-in-class creative services and administration’