News – Iconic Artists Group™

Iconic Artists Group, Rock The Bells and RZA Partner to Expand Wu-Tang Clan Legacy

Gail Mitchell / Billboard.com - Wu-Tang Clan Read at Billboard

In a multi-partner deal, Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group and LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells have formed an alliance with producer and Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA. The goal: to expand and further solidify the music, brand, philosophy and lifestyle of the legendary and influential hip-hop collective.

“As we evolve from ‘Legendary Status’ to ‘Iconic Status,’ it’s only fitting and serendipitous that we join the team at Iconic Artists Group and Rock The Bells,” RZA (real name: Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) said in a statement announcing the alliance. “This partnership will help us continue to expound and expand the Wu-Tang Clan’s legacy.”

Nat King Cole Earns His First Top 10 On A Billboard Chart Almost 60 Years After His Death

Hugh McIntyre / Forbes.com - Nat King Cole Read at Forbes

Nat King Cole has been gone for more than half a century, but he’s still one of the most beloved jazz musicians of all time. His legacy, which is already impressive, continues to grow as more and more posthumous releases come out. The legendary artist earns a special win on several Billboard charts this week with his most recent project, which has proved to be a bestseller.

Live At The Blue Note Chicago debuts on the Vinyl Albums chart this week. The set opens at No. 7, marking the jazz musician’s first top 10 on the list of the bestselling full-lengths on the format.

Cole doesn’t only earn his first top 10 on the tally this frame. Live At The Blue Note Chicago marks the pianist’s first placement anywhere on the Vinyl Albums chart. That may shock some fans, but the list was inaugurated long after Cole’s passing, and after his moment in the spotlight had passed.

In the past tracking week, Luminate reports that Live At The Blue Note Chicago sold 3,508 copies in the U.S. How many of those were on vinyl, versus in any other form, wasn’t published by the data collection company, but chances are many of them–if not the bulk of that number–were on wax.

Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry Sells Stake In Catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group

Murray Stassen / MusicBusinessWorldwide.com - Bryan Ferry Read at Music Business Worldwide

Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group has struck a music rights deal with Bryan Ferry, the vocalist and principal songwriter of the British rock group Roxy Music.

The deal encompasses a range of assets from Ferry’s career including his solo work, as well as his time with Roxy Music.

The company has acquired 50% of Ferry’s sound recording, publishing, and name, image and likeness rights.

The deal with Ferry marks the latest for Iconic Artists Group and follows the company’s recent acquisition of Rod Stewart’s catalog.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Stewart sold his interests in his ‘publishing catalog and recorded music, as well as some name and likeness rights’ to Iconic for around $100 million.

Rod Stewart Sells Catalog To Iconic Artists Group For Around $100M; Company Raises $1BN To Buy

Murray Stassen / MusicBusinessWorldwide.com - Rod Stewart Read at Music Business Worldwide

Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group has secured a strategic investment from HPS Investment Partners (HPS), an investment firm with $107 billion in assets under management.

The investment from HPS, together with senior debt financing from third parties, provides Iconic with access to $1 billion of capital.

With HPS’ support, Iconic will further solidify its position as the trusted partner of choice for artists and their estates seeking to maximize the value of their portfolios and ensure their music continues to inspire and resonate with audiences for generations to come.

Iconic has also finalized what it calls a wide-ranging cross-media partnership with legendary artist Rod Stewart to “acquire, develop, and expand his six-decade musical legacy to new generations of fans”.

A two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and one of music’s best-selling artists, Iconic says that the “landmark arrangement encompasses Stewart’s songs spanning his monumental solo career, as well as tenure in two iconic groups, the Faces and Jeff Beck Group”.

Rod Stewart Sells Song Catalog as Music-Rights Fundraising Surges

Anne Steele / WSJ.com - Rod Stewart Read at The Wall Street Journal

Rod Stewart, the star behind such hits as “Maggie May” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy,” has sold his song catalog as the music-rights market draws a flurry of fresh capital.

Stewart sold his interests in his publishing catalog and recorded music, as well as some name and likeness rights, to music-industry executive Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group for nearly $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Iconic on Thursday said it also raised more than $1 billion in new capital for future catalog investments led by the private markets investment firm HPS Investment Partners.

Stewart, 79, boasts a catalog that includes 10 No. 1 albums, and he has charted six consecutive decades with studio albums that sold more than one million copies each. The rights he sold span his solo career as well as his time as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.