David Weitzman is joining Primary Wave Music Publishing as partner, focusing on the acquisition of catalogs from “iconic and legendary songwriters”.
He will be based out of the company’s Los Angeles office and will work closely with Primary Wave founder and CEO, Lawrence Mestel, as well as President of PWMP, Justin Shukat.
Weitzman will have access to capital via Primary Wave Music IP Fund 2 which, according to filings seen by MBW, raised a $180.82m warchest in February this year.
UPDATE: Since that initial raise in February, sources now indicate that Primary Wave Music IP Fund 2 has raised an additional $300m-plus, taking its total capital over the $500m mark. Primary Wave’s IP Fund 1, which it set into motion in 2016, raised over $300m in total. That means, across both funds, Primary Wave has raised in excess of $800m. MBW understands that Primary Wave doesn’t intend to raise again in Fund 2, but may of course attract further investment in the future.
Weitzman joins Primary Wave from Anthem Entertainment Group (formerly ole), where he headed business development.
Weitzman said of his new role: “I am thrilled to announce this new chapter in my professional career joining Larry, Justin and the fantastic Primary Wave team as partner, sourcing acquisitions to enhance the company’s aggressive growth strategy.”
“We couldn’t be happier to provide David a platform where David’s vast experience and talents can flourish.”
“I have known David for quite some time. He had been a formidable opponent when at his former company” said Mestel.
He continued, “We couldn’t be happier to provide David a platform where his vast experience and talents can flourish.”
Weitzman began his music business career in the ’90s, working with record labels such as Rick Rubin’s American Recordings, iconic punk label, Epitaph Records, Sublime’s Skunk Records and infamous Red Ant Records.
Covering both A&R and radio promotion, he worked with platinum artists including Sublime, Rancid, The Black Crowes, Sir Mix a Lot, Ozzy Osbourne and Love & Rockets.
Weitzman transitioned to digital distributor eMusic during the dotcom boom of the late ’90s where he signed up independent labels and artists to exclusive digital distribution deals.
“I am thrilled to announce this new chapter in my professional career.”
David Weitzman, Primary Wave (pictured, main)
After eMusic, he music-supervised projects including MTV hits, Jackass, Wildboyz, Rob & Big, and Run’s House.
He then moved into music publishing and asset acquisition at Canada-born indie music publisher, ole.
In addition, under Weitzman’s watch, ole acquired the production music library, Jingle Punks, and acquired RedOne’s 2101 Songs catalog.
Primary Wave Music Publishing, founded in 2006, has since acquired the copyrights of over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of legendary artists such as Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Kurt Cobain, Aerosmith, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall & Oates and Whitney Houston.
In addition to its own publishing catalog, Primary Wave also has strategic ventures with Rough Trade, Janice Brock, Juan Madrid, and Blue Mountain Music, all of whom specialize in up-and-coming talent.
With just three employees in 2006, Primary Wave has grown to a company of 70+ employees today, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Nashville, and Austin.Music Business Worldwide
