Jack Savoretti has signed to Virgin EMI, Music Week has learned. (Updated: The company has now rebranded as EMI under new president Rebecca Allen.)
Savoretti’s move to the major follows a successful spell at BMG, who oversaw his rise as a No.1 album artist. The company also helped the singer-songwriting become an arena artist in the UK.
Savoretti was out of contract at BMG and opted for a move to Virgin EMI and Universal. It follows Virgin EMI’s recent recruitment of Thomas Haimovici, the A&R exec who signed Savoretti to BMG.
Singing To Strangers (BMG), released in March 2019, was Savoretti’s first No.1 and ended the year as the 28th biggest-selling artist album. It has sales to date of 153,653, according to the Official Charts Company.
Based on OCC data, BMG has moved 486,464 units of Savoretti’s three albums released with the company in the UK. BMG developed the singer-songwriter and secured a breakthrough with Written In Scars (198,039 sales to date), Savoretti’s first LP with BMG in 2015. BMG also paired Savoretti with Kylie Minogue for the single Music’s Too Sad Without You (62,948 sales).
His success with BMG followed three independent releases, the highest-charting of which was 2007 debut Between The Minds at No.70.
Savoretti and his team will be aiming to build on his success so far. Virgin EMI is No.1 on the market shares for AES (Artist Albums) for the year to date. The company will be able to partner with Universal labels around the world.
However, Savoretti has signed to the label just as its president Ted Cockle has made a surprise exit.
Music Week understands that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed plans for a new Savoretti album under his new deal. Savoretti’s band members are based in different countries and unable to reconvene for recording sessions.
Savoretti joins a roster including Lewis Capaldi, Blossoms, Florence + The Machine, Loyle Carner and Jessie Ware.
Virgin EMI declined to comment on the signing.
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