Seeker Music has acquired the rights to Mark Morrison’s music catalog in what the company described as “a multi-million dollar deal.”
The agreement goes beyond mere acquisition as it also forms a creative partnership between Seeker and the British singer-songwriter, best known for his hit Return of the Mack.
The 1996 chart-topper has been sampled in over 25 songs, and has been used to create new songs such as The Mack by Mann ft. Iyaz and Snoop Dogg, The Mack by Nevada ft. Fetty Wap and re-recorded vocals by Morrison himself, Provide by G. Eazy ft. Chris Brown and Morrison, and the viral TikTok hit Cooped Up / Return of the Mack by Post Malone and Morrison.
The song, part of Morrison’s 3x platinum-selling debut album of the same name, has also graced the soundtracks of shows like Euphoria and Entourage, performed on The Masked Singer, anthemed a political campaign (Andrew Yang), and appeared in commercials for both McDonald’s and Burger King.
The song was re-imagined for a TV commercial by PepsiCo’s Frito–Lay, which Morrison also starred in, and in 2023, it was included on Billboard’s 500 Best Pop Songs of All Time list.
“Mark is exactly the kind of innovative and inspirational artist that Seeker loves to create with. Mark is a legend who continues to inspire countless music creators, genres and culture, successfully collaborating with other artists, visual media and brands for the past 30 years.”
Evan Bogart, Seeker Music
“A master of reinvention and creative revitalization, Morrison has been ‘working’ his own catalog for years by partnering with well-known brands for ad campaigns, and directly collaborating with modern artists to re-record vocals of his own songs on remixes and features, taking a more active role than most,” said Seeker.
This ubiquity, alongside Morrison’s other Top 10 hits like Crazy and Trippin, makes his catalog a goldmine for Seeker.
This strategic move aligns with Seeker’s philosophy of investing in catalogs with potential for reinvention “the same way labels approach breaking new artists, therefore, teaming up with Morrison was a no brainer,” the company said.
Evan Bogart, CEO and founder of Seeker Music and a celebrated songwriter in his own right (Beyonce’s Halo and Rihanna’s SOS), expressed his excitement about the partnership, saying: “Mark is exactly the kind of innovative and inspirational artist that Seeker loves to create with. Mark is a legend who continues to inspire countless music creators, genres and culture, successfully collaborating with other artists, visual media and brands for the past 30 years.”
“Looking forward to working with the Seeker family in this next chapter of my musical journey. With Evan, Steven, and Seeker as partners, I’m excited to have creative collaborators who share the same vision for how to celebrate and build my songs into the future.”
Mark Morrison
“His trailblazing, proactive, creative approach is what we’re all about as a company, so I couldn’t be more excited to have this opportunity. Also, Return of the Mack was a seminal smash in the development of my own creative career, I’m a huge fan!”
In addition to working on reinventing Return of the Mack, Seeker and Morrison will also explore the creative potential of Morrison’s other Top 10 hits like Crazy, Trippin, Horny, and Moan & Groan. Morrison was the first artist in British pop history to have five Top 10 hits from a debut album.
Steven Melrose, Global Head of Creative for Seeker Music, said, “Collaborating with Mark and Clive on our latest acquisition and our creative partnership is a dream come true for our collective team. Personally, it’s incredibly thrilling, especially considering that Return of the Mack was the soundtrack of my earlier years… The Mack is back!”
Mark Morrison said, “Looking forward to working with the Seeker family in this next chapter of my musical journey. With Evan, Steven, and Seeker as partners, I’m excited to have creative collaborators who share the same vision for how to celebrate and build my songs into the future.”
“Mark’s music is as relevant today as it was nearly 30 years ago – I am thrilled to have helped in getting this deal done and to have remained a friend for 3 decades. There are exciting times ahead for Mark and Seeker.”
Clive Black, Mark Morrison’s Business Advisor
“Mark’s music is as relevant today as it was nearly 30 years ago – I am thrilled to have helped in getting this deal done and to have remained a friend for three decades. There are exciting times ahead for Mark and Seeker,” said Clive Black, Morrison’s long-time friend and business advisor.
The deal was brokered by David Simone and Winston Simone. Black and Adam Van Straten represented Morrison in the deal, while Seeker was represented by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, led by their in-house team Dan Stuart, Jennifer Scher, Steven Melrose, and Scott Rubin.
The agreement with Morrison follows Seeker’s launch of its SAMPLÉMOOSE initiative in the summer of 2023. SAMPLÉMOOSE is a collection of loops, beats, & flip-starts that Seeker’s A&R and creative team curates and offers to a select community of producers, artists, and songwriters. The initiative inspires creators and incentivizes them to flip cuts from Seeker’s catalog into brand-new hits.
Earlier this month, Seeker acquired the publishing rights to Marcos “Kosine” Palacios’ catalog, including his share of hits like Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda and Rihanna’s Birthday Cake. Kosine has been named Seeker’s first-ever SAMPLÉMOOSE ambassador.
Seeker has been on an acquisition spree in recent months, buying the catalog of Plested, the songwriter behind hits for Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan, in October 2023; the publishing catalog of UK production duo Future Cut in June 2023; the full catalog of Christopher Cross in February 2023, and the catalogs of pop songwriters John Ryan and Jon Bellion in January 2023.
According to data from Pitchbook, Seeker Music raised $31 million in its early-stage capital raise in March 2021.
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