Spirit Music has acquired select compositions from the music publishing catalog of country rock artist songwriter HARDY.
Through the deal, HARDY has also signed a go-forward exclusive songwriting agreement with Spirit Music Nashville.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hardy has written 16 No.1 singles, including his triple-platinum track ONE BEER featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson. He has also collaborated with Morgan Wallen, Carrie Underwood and Jelly Roll. The sale excludes JACK, his first rock radio chart-topper.
The songwriter retains his partnership with Relative Music Group as a publisher, but his future compositions will move to Spirit Music Nashville. HARDY was the first signed act of Relative Music, which was founded in 2017 by father-son duo Dennis and Jesse Matkosky.
Sony Music Publishing signed a global deal with Relative Music Group in 2021. MBW understands that Relative and/or SMP continue to own their portions of the select Hardy compositions purchased by Spirit, while Spirit now owns Hardy’s stake. Neither Sony Music Publishing nor Relative is involved with the go-forward agreement with Spirit Music Nashville.
Frank Rogers, Chief Creative Officer, Spirit Music Group/Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Music Nashville, said: “HARDY is a multi-genre force of nature as an artist, a world-class songwriter and a great human being.”
“Spirit could not be more excited to welcome HARDY to the family and we are excited about helping him build on his already legendary career.”
Frank Rogers, Spirit Music Group
“Spirit could not be more excited to welcome HARDY to the family and we are excited about helping him build on his already legendary career.”
HARDY, whose real name is Michael Hardy, has won five ACM Awards and two CMA Awards. The BMI named him 2022 Country Songwriter of the Year. He also received three consecutive AIMP Songwriter of the Year awards. His compositions have been recorded by Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Dierks Bentley, Thomas Rhett and more.
His recent output includes collaborations with Morgan Wallen on Born With A Beer In My Hand and Tennessee Fan, Jelly Roll’s Church and Carrie Underwood’s Hate My Heart.
In 2024, HARDY released his album Quit!!, which reached No. 1. His upcoming release, COUNTRY! COUNTRY!, arrives on September 26 through Big Loud Records, supported by current single Favorite Country Song, which he performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“Great music with great people is the business we want to be in here, and HARDY hits that nail on the head. He is truly a ‘1 of 1’ talent and human that elevates every room he’s in.”
Derek Wells, Spirit Music Nashville/2Mix
The artist’s live performance schedule includes his JIM BOB World Tour, culminating with his first headline show at Madison Square Garden during the week of his new album’s release. HARDY made his Grand Ole Opry debut earlier this year, with Metallica’s James Hetfield attending the performance.
Derek Wells, Vice President, A&R/Production, Spirit Music Nashville/2Mix, said: “After years of making music together, I couldn’t be more proud to start this new chapter with my pal HARDY here at Spirit.”
“Great music with great people is the business we want to be in here, and HARDY hits that nail on the head. He is truly a ‘1 of 1’ talent and human that elevates every room he’s in.”
Commenting on the sale, HARDY said: “I’m pumped to be joining the Spirit Music family. They believe in the songs I write and that means a lot to me. I’m excited to see what we can build together.”
Scott Safford of Safford Motley PLC represented HARDY in the transaction, while Spirit Music worked with attorneys Matthew Beckett and David Crow of Milom/Crow/Kelley/Beckett/Shehan PLC.
“I’m pumped to be joining the Spirit Music family. They believe in the songs I write and that means a lot to me. I’m excited to see what we can build together.”
HARDY
For Spirit Music, founded in 1995, the transaction expands its catalog that already includes over 100,000 songs across nine decades of recorded music. The company’s portfolio includes compositions recorded by artists like Ed Sheeran, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Camilla Cabello, Jay-Z, Ricky Martin, Brad Paisley, Toto, Madonna, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Eminem, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Eminem, Salt-N-Pepa, Tom Petty and more.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that The Weeknd is looking to raise roughly USD $1 billion in financing backed by his music catalog. New York-based Lyric Capital Group, which owns Spirit Music, reportedly led the talks, with The Weeknd already reaching out to other investors to assemble the financing package.
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