Russ Ballard performing live. Photo Credit: Primary Wave
Another day, another catalog acquisition: Primary Wave Music has unveiled a multimillion-dollar deal with 77-year-old singer-songwriter Russ Ballard.
New York City-based Primary Wave, having announced a song-rights agreement with Sarah McLachlan last week and revealed a pact with the estate of Lynyrd Skynyrd founding member Bob Burns in late March, detailed its newest play today. According to the Brookfield-backed company, the tie-up with Waltham Cross-born Ballard encompasses “a stake” in the former Argent lead singer’s “publishing catalog and writer’s share royalties, as well as his writer’s share of public performance.”
As part of Argent, Ballard penned “Tragedy” and the Kiss-covered “God Gave Rock and Roll to You,” to name some, before writing (and in some instances producing) works recorded by America (“You Can Do Magic” and “The Border”), ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog (“Can’t Shake Loose”) and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (“I Know There’s Something Going On”), and Ace Frehley (“New York Groove”).
Additionally, the former Roulettes and Unit 4 + 2 member Ballard, who’s released at least 10 albums as a solo act, is credited as the lone songwriter on commercially prominent tracks including “So You Win Again,” “Since You Been Gone,” and “I Surrender.”
Addressing his deal with Primary Wave in a statement, Russ Ballard made clear that he’s excited to work with the entity (part of which belongs to CAA) on forthcoming projects.
“I am delighted that I have found the right partner in Primary Wave,” said Ballard, whose professional efforts are continuing to generate interest on the sync side. “I am looking forward to working with them on many of my future projects. I love their energy and their commitment. I would like to thank Larry [Mestel, founder and CEO of Primary Wave] and all his team. I would like to thank James Harman and [express my gratitude] to RG-C. The future looks bright!”
And in remarks of his own, Robin Godfrey-Cass, a relatively new addition to the Primary Wave executive roster, said in part: “We are excited to launch a true partnership and look forward to working with Russ. As if these timeless hits, most of which he is the sole writer, weren’t enough inspiration, Russ’s charm and involvement makes everyone around him want to work even harder.”
In related news, AMR Songs about three weeks ago disclosed a catalog deal with The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian, and Cutting Edge Media Music revealed a multimillion-dollar IP agreement with First Score Music. However, the previously red-hot space might be showing some signs of cooling amid the well-documented economic downturn, particularly when it comes to massive catalogs for which sellers are seeking billions.