Primary Wave Music has struck a partnership with Brian Vander Ark, the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band The Verve Pipe.
The partnership, announced on Tuesday (October 13), covers Vander Ark‘s publishing and recorded music catalogs, including the songs he wrote for The Verve Pipe.
It also gives the band access to Primary Wave‘s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, spanning digital strategy, licensing, sync, and film and TV production.
The catalog spans Vander Ark‘s career of more than three decades with the band, and takes in Colorful, Photograph, and the group’s highest-charting single, The Freshmen.
Released in January 1997, The Freshmen was the third single from Villains, the band’s 1996 debut album for RCA.
The track reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped Billboard‘s Modern Rock Tracks and Triple A charts.
Primary Wave said The Freshmen won an ASCAP Pop Award.
American Songwriter called The Freshmen “a stone cold hit.”
Cryptic Rock said the single solidified the group “as a band to follow on the scene.”
The Verve Pipe formed in Michigan in the early 1990s and released two independent albums, I’ve Suffered A Head Injury and Pop Smear, before signing to RCA.
Villains reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200, and the band went on to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Show with David Letterman.
The band’s 2001 album Underneath produced Colorful, which featured in the film Rock Star.
Rock Star starred Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, with Vander Ark in an acting role.
The Verve Pipe has moved between rock and children’s music, releasing the family albums A Family Album and Are We There Yet?, and returning to rock with Overboard and the live record Villains – Live & Acoustic.
The band released its latest album, Reconciled, in the summer of 2025, and continues to perform both rock and children’s shows across the US.
Reviewing a recent show, Arts STL said the band “proved it with a high-energy set that showed off just how deep their catalog and musicianship go.”
The partnership is the latest in a run of catalog deals for the New York-headquartered publisher.
In May, the company partnered with The Who‘s Pete Townshend on his name, image, and likeness and future creative projects.
In July, Primary Wave struck a deal with Foreigner co-founder Mick Jones covering his publishing and recording catalogs, the band’s name, image, and likeness, and its touring.
In September, it partnered with the estate of Robert Palmer and Wilson Pickett on their publishing and recording catalogs and name, image, and likeness rights.
Primary Wave’s acquisition of Kobalt closed in July 2026 in a transaction worth around $1.5 billion.
The company closed its fourth flagship music fund at $2.225 billion in April 2026.Music Business Worldwide