Tyler Brown & Harold Serero launch Heatwave Records

02 October 2024 - Press release

Former Syco & Ultra Execs Announce New Label Specialising in Music from Emerging Markets

Partnership announced with US based music and technology company Too Lost

First Release “Awolowo” by Fido is breakout hit of the summer in Nigeria

 

The former Managing Director of Syco Music, Tyler Brown and Harold Serero, who until recently held a senior A&R role at Ultra Music Publishing and the Payday Record label where he oversaw the company’s African music division, have announced the launch of Heatwave Records, a new label focusing on signing artists from emerging markets.

The pair teamed up following a conversation in which they both revealed their excitement about artists they were encountering from West Africa, South America, India and beyond.

Based in London, Heatwave Records, which describes itself as “a borderless label focused on connecting the dots for music worldwide, nurturing a global audience for our artists and having global hits”, has hired Andrew Birchall in an A&R role and plans to build a creative presence in several key territories around the world before the end of the year.

Since its launch earlier this month Heatwave Records has already celebrated several successful signings with Nigerian artist Fido’s track “Awolowo” becoming the country’s breakout hit of the summer, going to #1 on Spotify viral, #1 Apple Nigeria, #1 Shazam Nigeria, #1 Spotify Nigeria, and top 20 on the global viral charts and the Global Shazam charts.

The label has also announced the signings of Ivory Coast artist døpelym, whose track ‘Guala’ went #40 on Shazam in France and top10 on the viral chart and Firstklaz from Nigeria, whose track ‘Gen-Z Area’ went top 20 on the viral chart in Nigeria and to #1 on Deezer Nigeria.

Co-founder of Heatwave Records Harold Serero said, “After one listen, we knew Fido’s track ‘Awolowo', which celebrates the former leader of the Nigerian independence movement, was a special one. It has since been taken up as an anthem for young people all across Africa as a call for freedom and a celebration of the good life. We’re thrilled that our first signing is such an incredible artist and an iconic song, which continues to gather global momentum.” 
 
He continued, “countries like Nigeria, South Africa & India have some of the most vibrant and ambitious music communities in the world. At any given moment there are hundreds if not thousands of artists competing for a place at the top. The songs, the melodies, the engagement of the music community - its unmatched. The artists we are talking to each day are so ambitious and are pushing the boundaries of creativity in new ways. Heatwave is a celebration of the simple fact that any artist from any country can rise to the top.”

Heatwave Records has also teamed with Too Lost, a music and technology company that provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for independent music rights holders. Their distribution and publishing services deliver, monetize, and protect songs across the globe for over 300,000+ musicians, record labels, studios, brands, investors, and platforms.

Gregory Hirschhorn, CEO of Too Lost said, "Too Lost is proud to work with Heatwave as their exclusive distribution partner. Their proven track record as hitmakers give us full faith and confidence in their ability to continue to identify and highlight impactful global music and we look forward to our continued success together.”

Tyler Brown, co-founder of Heatwave Records said, “I’ve only ever been interested in working within the global music industry and music from around the world has never been so exciting!  Heatwave was an idea generated from our love of this music and it’s a luxury and an honour to have the ability to discover the next global superstars through this new venture. We’ve got off to a fantastic start but it’s just the beginning and the partnership with Too Lost feels like a powerful one already. I wanted to work with Harold from the first time I met him, in my opinion he’s one of the best young A&R executives in the game, I’m sure he wouldn’t disagree with that.”