Breakthrough Voisey Artist Signs to Island and Warner/Chappell 14 Sep 2020
poutyface Inks Major Recording and Publishing Deals
Olivia Knight, the artist known as poutyface, who gained significant profile through the music app Voisey, has signed long-term, global recording and publishing agreements with Island Records and Warner/Chappell Music.
This is the first major signing of talent that has emerged via Voisey, which allows users to record short videos using professional vocal effects and multi track vocals over backing tracks uploaded by bedroom and professional producers alike from all around the world.
Voisey is still in iOS only limited territories release, yet has seen huge and engagement since the global lockdown due to the simplicity of its audio processing technology and the incredibly creative, collaborative community that is springing up around it. Over 11 million songs have been recorded on Voisey so far, with plays in the app exceeding 200 million to date, suggesting huge potential scale via their imminent global rollout.
California-based poutyface was among the first unsigned artists to join Voisey’s beta-testing phase in 2019 while working in a San Diego grocery store, and despite the app not being publicly available outside Norway and the UK at the time, her quirky, original song hooks immediately connected with other users resulting in plays on Instagram and Facebook reaching almost 2 million in under 2 weeks.
poutyface said, “I hadn’t been able to write a song in years. In 2019, I spent most of my time in an industrial fridge, stacking milk crates for a job. I got invited to early access of Voisey, now its a year and 100+ Voiseys later, and I’m signed to Island Records, signed to Warner Chappell publishing, definitely out of my writers block and sort of pinching myself to check if this is real”
Voisey quickly spotted poutyface’s potential and brought her to the attention of Platoon founder and Voisey investor Denzyl Fiegelson who flew her to London last year to work on new material with a number of collaborators.
Olly Barnes, co-founder of Voisey said “We recognised very early that there was something special about Olivia. Her first few videos on Voisey connected phenomenally well, despite the platform being only weeks old at the time. We have proudly supported her evolution as an artist and can’t wait to see her continue to thrive creatively, both on and off Voisey, as she enters the next phase of her creative journey with Darcus and his team at Island and Warner Chappell.”
Darcus Beese, President of Island Records said, “Island first discovered poutyface on Voisey, a platform and community of talented artists and music makers in which poutyface stood out. Island is excited to welcome this innovative and prolific young artist to our family.” - Darcus Beese, President and CEO, Island Records.
For more information and to hear poutyface please visit her Instagram : @whoispoutyface
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THE HEADLINES
Two Guardian music writers spent a week assessing the limits of living with and without Spotify (see Features)
Ruth Barlow of AIM and Beggars Group on UMG, Downtown and why she believes ‘regulators must act’ (see Comment)
Jack Dorsey says it’s time to ‘delete all IP law’ — and Elon Musk agrees — amid continued AI training debate (see News)
Viagogo's anti-consumer practices show why only a price cap can stop law-breaking ticket touts (see News)
Q1 album chart suggests 2024's issues presenting new British music continue (see Comment)
Spotify responds to Kate Nash criticism with £500k payout claim (see News)
Fandom reciprocity: Why sustaining a community requires give and take (see Comment)
Everyone wants to monetise fandom – but we must fix fan data first (see Comment)
Music truly matters – so how can we plan better for its future? (see Comment)
TikTok sale fails to complete; lawsuits could hinder process (see Digital)
Government could delay new AI copyright laws by up to four years (see News)
If the internet dies, where does all the attention go? (see Comment)
The Tony Blair Institute's proposals on AI & copyright are a shambles (see Comment)
Is streaming to blame for songs getting shorter? (see Analysis)