Universal Music Publishing Group has confirmed that it's signed Dave Bayley of Glass Animals to an exclusive global publishing agreement.
Glass Animals topped the US Hot 100 and Spotify Global Chart with their smash Heat Waves. The band are signed to Republic in the US and Polydor in the UK for recordings.
Bayley was previously signed to independent publisher Beggars Music. Glass Animals manager Amy Morgan was formerly MD at Beggars Music.
Dave Bayley said: “There’s so much I want to learn and so much music I want to make in so many different areas - from Glass Animals records, to pop songwriting, to experimental sound design, to scoring. When it came time to re-sign my publishing, there were so many wonderful people, ideas and opportunities around that I began to feel a bit lost, but Universal Music Publishing and the incredible team of people there had drawn a long and clear path for me through those ideas… It just felt like a journey I wanted to take. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!”
The deal with UMPG was struck late last year but has now been formally announced.
Glass Animals’ 2020 album Dreamland became their highest-charting ever. With more than 1.5 billion global streams, the album reached No.2 in the UK and climbed into the US Top 10. The group’s latest single, I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance), has earned more than 30 million global streams.
Jody Gerson, chairman and CEO of UMPG, said: “I am a Glass Animals fan and I am especially delighted to work closely with UMPG’s global creative teams to amplify Dave Bayley’s talents as a writer and producer, not only for his band but also for other artists who inspire and excite him.”
There’s so much music I want to make in so many different areas
Dave Bayley
Glass Animals were recently nominated in the 2022 Grammy’ Best New Artist category, and the BRIT Awards for Song of the Year (Heat Waves) and Best Rock/Alternative Act.
Amy Morgan, of September Management, said: “After the success of Heat Waves and Dreamland, the next chapter for Dave is going to be a really important one. There is so much to explore for him both as an artist and as a writer/producer and I'm really looking forward to working with Jody, Mike and the team at UMPG to help develop all these strands of his career.”
Most recently, the UMPG A&R team coordinated a writing collaboration between Bayley and Florence Welch. As a result, Bayley co-wrote Florence + The Machine’s single My Love from her forthcoming album.
Mike McCormack, managing director of UMPG UK, said: “Best part of this job is when you get the opportunity to work with a world-class original talent like Dave Bayley. I’d been a fan of his for many years, so personally and professionally, it’s an honour that he and Amy chose UMPG as their publishing partner going forward.”
Heat Waves was the biggest UK single export of 2021. The RIAA triple platinum hit was solely written and produced by Bayley. It was the fourth most streamed song in the US for 2021.
Peaking at No.5 in the UK, Heat Waves has sales to date of 1,535,762, according to the Official Charts Company.
Currently on their Dreamland Tour, Glass Animals have sold more than 250,000 tickets in the US across 2021 and 2022, 40,000 tickets on their UK tour last year, and over 25,000 on their July 2022 Australia tour.
The band have upcoming festival slots in the UK, Europe and Australia, including Glastonbury, NOS Alive, Splendour in the Grass, Spin Off, Lowlands and Electric Picnic.
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