Zara Larsson announces own record label + back catalogue acquisition 08 Jun 2022
Multi-platinum global pop star Zara Larsson has today detailed plans for her own brand new record label, Sommer House. Sommer House will be licensed through Epic USA and distributed by Sony Sweden for all forthcoming Zara Larsson releases, with Larsson just dropping a brand new version of Abba's 'Lay All Your Love On Me'.
In a unique agreement made with TEN Music Group CEO Ola Håkansson – who originally signed Zara – Larsson has also today taken control of her entire recording catalogue (which has been streamed over 9 billion times). Having been signed to the Swedish independent since 2011, Zara's relationship with TEN has resulted in one of her country's most successful international exports – a story that continues in this new venture...
Commenting on the deal today, Zara states: "I really want to say thank you to Ola and everyone at TEN for giving me the opportunity to break out as an artist and helping me start my career. You are now also making something happen that is so, so rare for a woman in the music industry - the capability to own my own catalogue. With that it makes perfect sense that I would start my own record company. I very much look forward to my future and to a continued collaboration with Sony as well.'
"This is a natural and exciting development in Zara's continuing music career," Ola Håkansson comments. "We have worked together for more than 10 fantastic, eventful years and Zara is, despite her young age, an established and respected international artist with extensive experience of the international music scene today. It is going to be really exciting to follow Zara's ongoing music career. I wish her the best of luck, and I am convinced the she is going to achieve all her musical dreams and get to show her amazing artistry on the worlds biggest stages."
Epic CEO Slvia Rhone, meanwhile, closes: "Zara is a cornerstone artist for Epic Records. As she continues to deliver incredible music, we're privileged and excited to be part of the next chapter of her dynamic career."
Currently featuring on Alesso's latest single 'Words', Zara Larsson has just dropped her Spotify Singles cover of 'Lay All Your Love On Me' in a pulsing rework produced by Mark Ralph (Years & Years, Georgia). Zara was also invited to attend the premiere of ABBA's 'Voyage' residency at London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, ahead of Larsson's European tour this summer and brand new music expected this autumn.
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THE HEADLINES
Industry figures warn over impact of ignoring copyright rules when training AI (see News)
The accusations against Spotify’s Discovery Mode (see Digital)
UK music exports are at a record high, but breakthrough artists are scarce (see Analysis)
Craft versus character: the equation the music industry needs to fix (see Comment)
The audio listener is too valuable for the music industry to ignore (see Comment)
Spotify set to launch a super-premium subscription (see Digital)
TikTok and Luminate release the latest Music Impact Report (see Reports)
Do people actually hate Coldplay? A statistical analysis (see Analysis)
Lyor Cohen addresses Kanye West in an open letter (see News)
Let’s stop talking about emerging technologies (see Comment)
Chappell Roan hits back at criticism over Grammys speech; Ivors Academy supports calls for the industry to protect the future of artists (see News)
Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl show was one big tease (see News, Reviews)