Music Industry Moves: Blink-182’s Travis Barker Signs With Warner Chappell Publishing

Travis Barker has signed an exclusive worldwide administration deal with Warner Chappell Music, the publishing arm of Warner Music Group, the company announced Thursday (July 22). He is best known as the drummer of multiplatinum pop-punk band Blink-182 but has also played with his bands the Transplants and +44, and co-written and produced songs for Machine Gun Kelly, KennyHoopla, Bebe Rexha, Sueco, Willow, Swae Lee and many more, and recently worked with Jxdn on his debut album, “Tell Me About Tomorrow,” through DTA Records, Barker’s joint venture with Elektra Music Group. He is pictured above with Warner Chappell senior VP Greg Sowders (left) and U.S. president Ryan Press (right).

Sowders (a veteran drummer himself) and fellow Warner Chappell senior VP Katy Wolaver said, “Travis’s authenticity has paved the way for him to continue to grow and endure as one of punk rock’s most charismatic and influential figures. Not only did his music define an entire era, but his innovative, ongoing contributions to the contemporary musical landscape continue to shape culture. Travis has always found a way to infuse the DIY spirit of punk into every possible genre with amazing results.”

Warner Chappell Music President of A&R, U.S., Ryan Press, added: “Travis is not only a global superstar, but also one of the greatest drummers of all time and a highly sought-after producer. His music popularized pop-punk in the early 2000s, and as his career has continued to evolve, his influence has only gotten stronger.”

Travis Barker added: “Stoked to be working with everyone from Warner Chappell. Looking forward to a long and successful relationship.”

+ Sony Music Publishing has announced the promotion of Carol Ng to President, Asia. She is based in the company’s Hong Kong office and reports to president of international Guy Henderson. According to the announcement, she manages a global network of teams, spearheads creative strategy and roster development; cultivates relationships with industry partners and local collection societies; drives digital opportunities with companies in the Pan-Asian region; and expands the company’s presence in new markets.

She will continue to work closely with Sony Music Publishing’s local territories to further strengthen its position throughout the Pan-Asian region. This will include working alongside Silence Hua, Managing Director, China & Director Greater China, to foster relationships with key digital partners in China, as well as Kenny Lee, Managing Director, Korea.

Ng said, “I have been very blessed throughout these years working with my team. We fight hard and support each other; we share tears and laughter; we share visions and make it happen! I am also thankful to Guy who always supports and listens, and to Jon who always appreciates and encourages.”

Henderson added, “I am so pleased that Carol has been promoted to President, Asia. The Asian region is exciting, varied and with new income sources emerging all the time, often challenging. It takes a special executive to manage and grow all these facets of our business – Carol is that executive.”

She joined EMI Music publishing in 1998 as Finance Manager and was subsequently promoted to be Regional Finance & Administration Manager. She held the position of CFO, Asia when she moved across to Sony Music Publishing during the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing in 2012. She was later promoted and took up the new role as Regional Managing Director in 2014.

+ Big Loud Records has announced several promotions and a new hire. Stacy Blythe has been elevated to senior VP of promotion; Ali Matkosky is named VP of promotion; Tyler Waugh is now national director of promotion; Sarah Headley is upped to director of Southeast promotion. The new hire is Kelley Brock, who joins as promotion coordinator (she was previously an on-air radio personality at WKDF-Nashville and WUSY-Chattanooga).

Tuesday, July 20

Oak View Group — the venue-development, advisory, and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries founded by Irving Azoff and Tim Lieweke — has announced a long-term partnership with Ticketmaster, the Live Nation-owned largest ticketing company in the world, covering six of OVG’s new arenas. Those include New York’s UBS Arena, Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Austin’s Moody Center, Coachella Valley Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., Savannah Arena, and Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

“OVG is setting a new standard for arenas with world-class hospitality and state-of-the-art technology. Their portfolio boasts some of the most modern and progressive new venues in the world,” said Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich. “Through our leading-edge ticketing technology, Ticketmaster will help OVG deliver premium fan experiences for sports fanatics and music lovers.”

Continuing a longstanding NHL partnership, Ticketmaster will expand its relationship with the New York Islanders as they make the move to UBS Arena. Ticketmaster will further extend its NHL support by partnering with the league’s newest expansion team the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. OVG and Ticketmaster will broaden their partnership further across a number of music-forward facilities including Coachella Valley Arena, which is also home to a future AHL Palm Springs team; Moody Center, Austin’s multi-purpose arena specially-designed for headline entertainment; and Savannah Arena, a music, sports and entertainment destination that will be home to a future ECHL hockey team. Ticketmaster will also support OVG’s international growth by providing digital ticketing technology at Co-op Live in Manchester, the largest arena in the UK, set to open in 2023.

“Ticketmaster is the best ticketing system in the world, and we’re pleased to offer their industry-leading technology across all of our world-class venues,” said Leiweke. “We know what a strong partner Ticketmaster is when it comes to bringing that premium ticketing experience to fans, and we look forward to partnering with them to bring the biggest artists and sporting events as we return to live.”

+ BMI has promoted Shouvik Das to senior VP of distribution, publisher relations & administration services, and Misha Hunke to VP of administration & publisher relations.

According to the announcement, these new roles will streamline the reporting structure of the distribution and administration departments, which previously reported as separate entities to executive VP Alison Smith. Both departments will now function under the leadership of Das, who will continue to report to Smith, with Hunke now reporting directly to Das.

Das will continue to work closely with Smith to manage the relationships with BMI’s publishers, emphasizing customer service strategy while overseeing the company’s domestic and international royalty distributions and administration services. Hunke will also take on a more expansive role in leading business areas of the department, including Affiliation, Agreements, Royalty Assignments, Research, Publisher Customer Services, and Online Services. She will also continue to supervise the business team responsible for Songview, the searchable data platform developed with ASCAP that currently features copyright ownership information on over 20 million works.

“Shouvik and Misha consistently go above and beyond to serve our songwriters, composers and music publishers,” said Smith. “In the past year alone, they’ve overseen multiple initiatives including processing nearly two trillion performances, launching phase one of Songview and the early distribution of royalty payments to BMI’s affiliates during the first two quarters of the pandemic.”

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