Downtown Neighbouring Rights sign international deal with Lady Blackbird 26 Jul 2024
Lady Blackbird joins the company’s existing global roster which includes Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, One Republic and the Estate of Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Meat Loaf.
Downtown Neighbouring Rights (DNR) has announced a global deal with American Psychedelic Soul singer-songwriter, Lady Blackbird.
As part of the international neighbouring rights agreement announced today, DNR will represent Lady Blackbird’s acclaimed catalog, which include singles, ‘Woman’, ‘Feel It Coming’ and her collaboration with Moby, ‘Dark Days’.
Produced by the Grammy-nominated, Chris Seefried, Lady Blackbird’s 2021 album, Black Acid Soul peaked at number 6 on the UK Album chart and entered the Official Jazz chart at Number One, with ‘Five Feet Tall’ accumulating over 4M streams on Spotify and her haunting version of Nina Simone’s ‘Blackbird’ becoming a civil rights rallying cry in the aftermath of George Floyd.
Winning ‘International Jazz Act of the Year’ at the 2022 Jazz FM Awards, Lady Blackbird is a sought-after collaborator, featuring on releases with Moby, Trevor Horn, Nitin Sawhney and Billy Porter as well as supporting Gregory Porter on his UK tour in 2022.
Lady Blackbird, artist and singer-songwriter has said, ‘“I am so excited to be partnering with Downtown in regards to my Neighboring Rights collections. With my new Album ‘Slang Spirituals’ coming out in September, this is going to be such an exciting year. Adding Downtown to my team feels like a perfect fit.”
Downtown Neighbouring Rights will also represent Lady Blackbird’s highly anticipated second studio album, Slang Spirituals, which lands in September 2024 and is produced once again by long-time collaborator, Chris Seefried. Her single ‘Reborn’, is the first to be taken from the album and was released in June 2024.
The announcement follows a successful start to 2024 for Downtown Neighbouring Rights who has welcomed a raft of global signings since the beginning of the year. The company announced international neighbouring rights agreements with acclaimed singer-songwriter, ANOHNI - representing the notable songwriter’s Academy Award-nominated song, ‘Manta Ray’ and Mercury Prize-winning album, ‘I Am a Bird Now’ - as well as global agreements with publisher and label, Position Music and TH3RD BRAIN Records; home to Brazilian producer, Zerb whose single ‘Mwaki’ hit number one on Spotify’s Viral 50 Global and #2 on Global Shazam charts.
Diane van Beekum-de Mooij, Director of Downtown Neighbouring Rights has commented, ‘It has been an exceptional year so far for Downtown Neighbouring Rights as we continue to represent and collect for groundbreaking global artists. Lady Blackbird is one such example, a highly talented artist, singer and songwriter, we are proud to represent her lauded catalog and look forward to providing her and her team with our expertise and offering.’
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THE HEADLINES
English Teacher win Mercury prize (see News, Features)
Oasis attempts to distance itself from dynamic pricing after backlash (see News, Comment)
EU rules out loosening post-Brexit curbs on UK touring musicians (see News)
What we can learn from the success of the UK's high-performing indie labels (see Comment)
CMA calls for “more protections” for consumers buying tickets (see News)
Is the era of larger-than-life, huge-voiced, huge-haired female singers ending? (see Features)
Ministers to examine surge ticket pricing (see News)
Spotify blasts ‘nonsensical’ MLC lawsuit in latest filing (see News)
Why fan pages are becoming artists' most useful - and cheapest - marketing tool (see Features)
Spotify has a fake-band problem (see Comment)
What makes pop music popular in 2024? (see Features)
Announcement today set to confirm Oasis reunion (see News, Comment, Features)
Spotify and Facebook complain EU privacy regulations around AI are holding back innovation (see News)