There isn’t much of a hotter property in the songwriting and production world right now than Jack Antonoff.
The multi-Grammy winner is, of course, a long-time collaborator of Taylor Swift’s, most recently co-producing all 13 tracks on the superstar’s uber-successful Midnights album (and co-writing 11 of them).
Now Antonoff has followed Swift to Universal Music Publishing Group, inking a global pubco admin deal that brings his long-term collaboration with Sony Music Publishing to an end.
(Antonoff’s decision to sign with UMPG appears to have at least in part been influenced by the move of Jennifer Knoepfle from Sony to Universal. Knoepfle, who joined UMPG last year as EVP and co-head of A&R, said today: “To continue being [Jack’s] publisher is an honor we don’t take for granted.”)
But that’s not the only big news that Antonoff announced today: He’s also inked a wide-ranging pact with Jamie Oborne, the UK-based artist management and label entrepreneur who founded both Dirty Hit (label home to The 1975, amongst others) and artist management house, All On Red.
Confirmed today, Jack Antonoff is now managed by Jamie Oborne / All On Red for the world, as are Antonoff’s band, Bleachers.
In addition, Antonoff is launching a label JV – to sign other artists – in tandem with Oborne, while Bleachers have signed to the Dirty Hit label.
As their first release on Dirty Hit, Bleachers are set to unveil ‘Live At Radio City Music Hall’ this Friday, August 25.
Jack Antonoff said in a statement today (with reckless disregard for the grammatical rules of upper and lower case lettering), “very proud to be working with Jamie and his entire team – we’ve known each other for some time now and our connection has deeply inspired me. have loved everything he has been creating from afar and love the perspective he has on what I do. feeling wild excitement for everything in the works and as seen in the picture above i’m just ready to be driving around playing my new records and dreaming about new ideas with Jamie. feels so special and rare to be supported like this and just very grateful our paths crossed. send love and excitement xx”
Jamie Oborne added: “I am thrilled to announce my official partnership with Jack, encompassing both management and records. During the freezing weeks of January 2022, I had the opportunity to spend time with Jack and was immediately captivated by his exceptional creative power and warmth.
“Aligning myself with such talented individuals is a true inspiration, driving both my professional and personal life. I am grateful for the faith he has placed in me and the entire team at Dirty Hit. Moving forward, we are eager to support Jack as one of the most culturally impactful and significant artists of our generation. This is just the beginning, and exciting times lie ahead!”
And Jennifer Knoepfle, UMPG Executive Vice President and Co-Head of A&R, said: “Jack is honestly one of one. To continue being his publisher is an honor we don’t take for granted. He’s even more creative and prolific then when I first met him over a decade ago – and that’s saying a lot! I look forward to this next chapter for him with UMPG by his side.”
In addition to Taylor Swift, Antonoff has collaborated with the likes of Lana Del Rey, The 1975, Diana Ross, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence + The Machine and Kevin Abstract.
In December last year, Dirty Hit announced that it had re-upped its global distribution agreement with Ingrooves / Virgin Music Group / Universal Music Group.Music Business Worldwide