July 1, 2023 – LONDON, UK (CelebrityAccess) – Downtown Music’s neighbouring rights division has signed international deals with the estates of Meat Loaf and Miles Davis.
Downtown Neighbouring Rights (DNR), the Downtown Music Holdings-owned business dedicated to performance royalties, has also announced the launch of its royalties and rights management platform, powered by Fuga’s proprietary technology.
Led by London-based general manager Dean Francis, the global DNR team has more than 30 years of experience and offers a client-led service to a wide range of artist and label clients, including Justin Bieber, Jon Batiste, Sub Pop Records, Lindsey Buckingham and the estate of Ella Fitzgerald.
Francis joined Downtown in 2020 to lead the standalone neighbouring rights division and oversaw the integration of Fuga’s neighbouring rights business following the acquisition by Downtown Music Holdings earlier that year.
As part of the international neighbouring rights agreement announced today, DNR will represent the entire Grammy-winning artist Meat Loaf catalog. His multi-platinum career stretches over 40 years and includes the singles “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I won’t do that),” which reached No.1 in 28 countries, alongside his Bat Out of Hell album trilogy.
Terry Doty, trustee and business manager of the Michael Lee Aday Intellectual Property Trust, said: ‘With neighbouring rights becoming an increasingly important form of revenue for rights holders and their catalog, we are confident that the Meat Loaf estate is in trusted and reputable hands with Downtown Neighbouring Rights, whose dedication to protecting and maximizing artists’ repertoire makes them an ideal partner for us.”
DNR’s agreement with the estate of Miles Davis – whose relationship with Downtown Music Publishing dates back to 2019 – covers the recordings of a career that spans five decades and includes releases such as Venus de Milo and Générique.
Vince Wilburn Jr, one of the overseers of the Miles Davis estate and nephew of the late jazz icon, said: “We are happy to expand our relationship with the Downtown Music Family. They have proven to value and love Miles’ music and brand.”
Dean Francis, general manager of Downtown Neighbouring Rights, said: “To partner with renowned estates such as Miles Davis and Meat Loaf, who have deeply impacted the modern music industry, is a real testament to the services and expertise we provide across our neighbouring rights offering. We strive to give clients the best of our in-house knowledge and arm them with resources to make them aware of how they can maximize the collection of these rights. The launch of our new platform will bolster this further by providing more insight as we look to continue to improve efficiencies in the administration of our clients’ exceptional catalogs.”
