This new deal will see Primary Wave acquire the music publishing catalog rights for a majority of compositions written by DeYoung, and master recording rights for a majority of recordings featuring DeYoung’s performances.
As one of the songwriters for Styx, DeYoung penned seven of the band’s eight Top 10 Billboard singles.
The new partnership with Primary Wave will encompass many of those songs including Babe, Lady, The Best of Times, and Come Sail Away.
Released in 1979, Babe was the band’s first No.1 single and spent two weeks atop the Billboard chart.
The song also saw international success, soaring to the Top 10 on charts in Canada, the UK, South Africa and more.
The Best of Times spent four weeks in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Lady was released in 1973 and has been credited as the first rock power ballad.
The song peaked at No.6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 thanks to radio airplay across the States. Come Sail Away shot to the Top 10 immediately upon release in 1978.
“Being in the company of all these great songwriters and musicians is absolutely incredible. Thanks to Larry and the entire Primary Wave team.”
Dennis DeYoung
“I’m truly honored to be a Primary Wave artist,” said Dennis DeYoung.
“Being in the company of all these great songwriters and musicians is absolutely incredible. Thanks to Larry and the entire Primary Wave team.”
Larry Mestel, CEO & Founder, Primary Wave Music, said: “We couldn’t be happier to welcome Dennis into the Primary Wave family.
“His songs were a soundtrack to so many lives and we look forward to creating new opportunities for those songs in the future. Dennis is truly a legendary artist.”
Primary Wave says that terms of the deal also give DeYoung access to its marketing team and publishing infrastructure, which includes digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities, and film & TV production.
Other recent deals from Primary Wave include a deal with Joey Tempest the lead vocalist of the rock band Europe, acquiring what it says is a portion of his music publishing catalog, encompassing five albums.
On June 28, Primary Wave revealed that it had struck what it calls a ‘multi-million-dollar’ deal with George Brown, the legendary songwriter, drummer, producer and Founding Member of Kool & The Gang.
In May, Primary Wave struck what it says is a “multi-million dollar” music rights deal with rock band Skillet.
In April, the company struck another multi-million dollar deal with singer and songwriter Russ Ballard, which saw the publisher acquire a stake in the singer and songwriter’s music publishing catalog and writer’s share royalties, as well as his writer’s share of public performance.
That deal, followed the acquisition of a stake in in multiple Grammy and Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan’s music publishing and recorded music catalog earlier this month.
In March, Primary Wave acquired the artist royalties of Bob Burns, best known as the original drummer and founding member of iconic southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Prior to that, in February, the company announced an agreement with singer, songwriter, and producer Stevie Van Zandt.
Plus, last month, Primary Wave made a strategic investment in India’s Times Music in a deal worth $100 million.Music Business Worldwide
