SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP ACQUIRES CAL IV ENTERTAINMENT, PREMIERE NASHVILLE INDEPENDENT MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY
LAUNCHES SPIRIT MUSIC NASHVILLE
ACQUISITION INCLUDES 25 #1 SONGS, TOP WRITERS, STAFF AND PROMINENT PRESENCE ON MUSIC ROW
LOS ANGELES (July 8, 2014) – Spirit Music Group (Spirit) announced today the acquisition of Cal IV Entertainment (Cal IV), the established and successful Nashville-based independent music publisher, production and artist management company. Part of Spirit’s aggressive global expansion plan, the acquisition marks Spirit’s first official presence on Music Row. Spirit will assume the Cal IV Nashville offices with Cal IV head Daniel Hill becoming President of Spirit Music Nashville, Billy Lynn becoming VP of Creative as well as other existing Cal IV staff remaining with the company. Daniel Hill will report to Spirit Chairman David Renzer.
Spirit Chairman David Renzer stated, “The acquisition of Cal IV represents a “trifecta” for Spirit- adding great catalog including important pop and country copyrights, hot writers and artists and an incredible staff – lead by successful veterans Daniel Hill and Billy Lynn, to build upon an incredibly solid foundation. We couldn’t be more excited about this significant step for Spirit as we accelerate the company’s growth.”
Through the deal, Spirit becomes the publisher of an active roster that includes hot songwriter/ artist Eric Paslay, who is not only a successful artist with two hit singles on the country charts but has written “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” performed by Jake Owen, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” performed by the Eli Young Band, “Rewind” performed by Rascal Flatts, “Angel Eyes” performed by Love And Theft, and “It Ain’t Pretty” performed by Lady Antebellum. Other writers signed to Cal IV include Jim Collins, Rose Falcon and Matt Singleton, Eric Knutson and Britanny Taylor of up-and-coming vocal trio Triple Run. In addition, Spirit acquires the publishing rights to a catalog of 25 number one copyrights and numerous top ten singles including such hits as Faith Hill’s “Breathe,” Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy,” Tim McGraw’s “Watch The Wind Blow By” and Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor;” as well as an extensive catalog of songs by former Cal IV writers such as Dave Berg (Billboard’s 2007 Country Songwriter of the Year, NSAI’s 2007 Songwriter of the Year, ASCAP’s 2008 Country Songwriter of the Year), Dylan Altman, Jim McBride, Odie Blackmon, Marla Cannon-Goodman, Trent Tomlinson, Holly Lamar, Georgia Middleman (Blue Sky Riders with Kenny Loggins and Gary Burr) and Ted Russell Kamp (Shooter Jennings), among many others.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished over the last fourteen years at Cal IV and am very grateful to Cal, III and Cal, Jr. for their generous support. I am thrilled to be able to continue to build upon their legacy and our considerable momentum as Spirit Music Nashville,” added Daniel Hill. “Spirit and Cal IV are kindred companies and the fit between the two could not be better. Joining forces with Spirit Music will create synergies that individually we could not attain, and will enable us to take the catalog and our songwriters to a whole new level of success.”
“Nashville is one of the most vibrant, diverse, fast-growing music towns on the planet. We’re thrilled to have found partners in Daniel and Billy who, like us, put their songwriters first and are ready to do whatever’s necessary to further their careers. We look forward to helping the new Nashville team expand the reach of their songs and writers across genres, territories and traditional and new media,” stated Spirit President/CEO Mark Fried.
Along with the publishing operation, Spirit assumes ownership of Cal IV’s wholly-owned subsidiary Fore Artists, an artist management company overseen by industry veteran Dan Harrell. Fore Artists provides the means to guide the careers of Cal IV talent, exploit its master recording assets and participate in alternative revenue streams that traditionally have not been available to music publishers. Recent success includes Fore’s flagship artist Eric Paslay, who scored his first number one hit single as an artist with “Friday Night” earlier this year.
EDITORIAL NOTE: Spirit Music Group/ Cal IV Entertainment photo available for download here.
ABOUT SPIRIT MUSIC:
Spirit Music Group, founded in 1995, is one of the world’s leading independent music publishers, owning and/or managing more than 75,000 songs spanning seven decades and every musical genre. The company’s repertoire reflects some of the most beloved songs and songwriters of all time including hits by Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Elmore James, Elvis Presley, Charles Mingus, Dion, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Santana, The Beach Boys, Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, Alice Cooper, Pure Prairie League, Chicago, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, The Go-Go’s, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Ricky Martin, Usher, Dido, Jewel and Mary J. Blige; the complete catalogs of such iconic songwriters and writer/artists as Pete Townshend, T.Rex, Boz Scaggs, The Marshall Tucker Band, Toto, Billy Squier, Andrea Bocelli, Charles Mingus, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Rick Nowels, C&C Music Factory; and the breakthrough work of such newer artists as Scissor Sisters, The Naked & Famous, Matt & Kim, San Cisco, Zooey Deschanel and Big Data. Spirit also represents the catalogs of such acclaimed film and television producers as The Jim Henson Company and Indian Paintbrush as well as the master recordings of such classic labels as Brunswick and k-Tel, and buzzing independent labels Fat Possum and The End. The company has earned a strong reputation as an aggressive royalty administrator and a peerless promoter of its songs into film, television and advertising productions as well as a wide range of new media. In recent years,Spirit’s creative staff has helped transform the publisher’s role beyond royalty collection and song promotion to proactive career and legacy partnership, creating and executing marketing plans to revitalize its clients’ songs and expand their brands. Spirit Music Group is based in New York with affiliate offices all over the world. Spirit’s financial partner is Pegasus Capital Advisors.
For further information about Spirit Music Group, go to www.spiritmusicgroup.com.
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