Primary Wave Music Publishing has acquired an equity stake in Rough Trade Publishing and will be providing the company with future financing. The total deal was worth more than $5m.
The agreement leaves the way clear for co-publishing deals between the two parties.
It also arms Rough Trade with more money to compete for global signings, and will provide the company access to Primary Wave’s marketing and creative team.
Rough Trade Publishing, which has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, operates as the publishing arm of Bank Robber Industries – a group comprised of numerous music companies including Bank Robber Music, Bank Robber Europe, Big Hassle Media, and Music House of Hassle.
In 2016, House of Hassle acquired a substantial interest in the UK-based Rough Trade Publishing and now operates under that name with a combined roster and staff – including company founders Geoff Travis and business partner Jeannette Lee, who simultaneously run Rough Trade Records having signed such artists as The Strokes, The Smiths, and The Libertines.
“We’ve finally met our match with Primary Wave. We couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds.”
Gandhar Savur, Rough Trade Publishing
Rough Trade’s first signings since closing the Primary Wave deal are LVL UP (pictured) and 888.
“We had been looking to partner with another company that is as motivated as we are to sign bands and do exciting deals,” says Gandhar Savur, Senior Vice President Legal Affairs at Rough Trade Publishing.
“We’ve finally met our match with Primary Wave. We couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds.”
“Rough Trade is a legendary brand in the music business,” says Justin Shukat, President of Primary Wave Music Publishing. “Their vision and hard working team made Rough Trade Publishing an ideal company for us to do business with.”
Rough Trade Publishing is the administrator of rights for bands such as War On Drugs, Superchunk, Grizzly Bear, the Magnetic Fields, Against Me!, and Future Islands.
It started as a company called House of Hassle Publishing, founded in 2007 by Lyle Hysen, Ken Weinstein and Gandhar Savur.
“Their vision and hard working team made Rough Trade Publishing an ideal company for us to do business with.”
Justin Shukat, Primary Wave Music Publishing
House of Hassle was born from a union between Bank Robber Music, a boutique TV/film licensing firm specialising in independent rock, and Big Hassle Media, a music publicity company.
Primary Wave Music Publishing was founded in 2006.
Over the years the company has acquired the copyrights of over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of artists such as Smokey Robinson, Kurt Cobain, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall & Oates, Chicago, Maurice White, Graham Parker, Daniel Johnston, Steven Curtis Chapman, Lamont Dozier, Steve Cropper and many others.
Primary Wave has grown over the last 10 years into a full service music and entertainment company that includes Brand Synergy Group, Brightshop Digital Marketing, publicity, Film/TV development, and a talent & literary management company.
Under the Primary Wave umbrella there are two core businesses: Primary Wave Music Publishing and its sister company, Primary Wave Entertainment – a talent management company working with the likes of CeeLo Green, Melissa Etheridge, Fantasia and Cypress Hill.Music Business Worldwide
