Primary Wave acquires the publishing and recording catalog of Christian rock giants Skillet in a multi-million-dollar deal.
Primary Wave Music, a leader in independent music publishing, has announced its partnership with award-winning rock band Skillet. The deal sees the publisher acquire the band’s music publishing and their record royalties across five critically acclaimed albums from 2003 to 2016.
Albums included in the multi-million-dollar deal are Skillet’s fifth studio album Collide, the 2006 album Comatose, the Top 5 and multi-platinum selling 2009 release Awake, their critically acclaimed 2013 album Rise, and their 2016 gold-selling album Unleashed. Songs across those releases include some of the band’s biggest hits over their nearly two-decade-long career, such as “Whispers in the Dark,” “Awake and Alive,” “Feel Invincible,” “Monster,” “Hero,” and “The Resistance.”
Skillet’s repertoire of songs has garnered over 1 billion streams on Spotify, having been featured by Marvel, NFL, NHL, MLB, and the WWE.
Terms of the deal also include access to Primary Wave’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, including digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities, and film & TV production.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Primary Wave team,” says John Cooper of Skillet. “What a wild, amazing ride it’s been with all of these songs! Grateful for the past and look forward to what’s ahead.”
“This has been an exciting deal for me to handle on a personal level because when I was in-house at Atlantic Records 20 years ago, I did the original deal to sign Skillet to Lava Records,” recalls Samantha Rhulen, SVP of Business & Legal Affairs at Primary Wave Music.”
“What the band and Zach have been able to accomplish since that time is truly impressive, and everything has now come full circle to bring them into the Primary Wave family.”
One of the best-selling rock bands of the 21st century, Skillet has achieved a lot in their nearly-20-year career, though most of it happened quietly under the radar. The two-time Grammy-nominated Pandora Billionaires Club members have sold over 17 million albums worldwide. The band has taken home a Billboard Music ward for its double-platinum Awake. Its breakout single, “Monster,” is certified 5x Platinum and remains “one of the most-streamed rock songs of all time.”