NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Primary Wave Music Publishing, one of the leading indie publishers in the U.S., announced they had struck a partnership with legendary record producer and founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell.
The deal will see Primary Wave take a majority ownership position in a new venture being launched with Blackwell, to be called Blue Mountain/Primary Wave Music. The deal will give Primary Wave access to key assets, including the catalog of the legendary Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, musical and cultural touchstone, Bob Marley.
The new joint venture will leverage Blackwell’s A&R and artist development experience with Primary Wave’s in-house marketing, branding, and digital operations to develop film and TV projects, as well as administration of Marley’s catalog, which includes hits such as “Three little birds” and “Could you be loved.”
“Bob Marley is respected in every corner of the globe. He changed the cultural ethos of generations of human beings,” says Lawrence Mestel, Founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music Publishing. He goes on, “It’s an honor to partner with my longtime mentor, Chris Blackwell, who, like Bob Marley, has shaped the landscape of taste in music through innovative marketing and genius artists developments.”
The estate of Marley, who died in 1981, has become a cultural icon and according to Forbes, generated 21 million in 2016. Last year, the New Yorker reported that unauthorized sales of Marley music and merchandise have been estimated to generate more than half a billion dollars a year, though the estate disputes this, the magazine said.
