NEWS
The estates of Layne Staley, and Mike Starr, original members of Alice In Chains, sold a stake in their publishing and master income rights
Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesThe estates of Alice in Chains original lineup members Layne Staley and Mike Starr have sold stakes in their publishing rights and master recording income stream to Primary Wave, the company announced on Monday, the latest in the ever-hot song acquisition marketplace.
Primary Wave declined to disclose financial details of the sale or how much of a stake in the catalogs it now owns, but with the purchase, it now holds a stake in one of most prominent catalogs of Seattle’s Grunge scene from the Nineties. Among the hits in the catalogs the company purchased are “Man in the Box,” which Staley wrote, along with tracks like “Rooster” and “Would,” which neither Staley nor Starr wrote, but they still get royalties on from the master recordings.
Staley died in 2002 while Starr left the group in 1993 and died in 2011. While Alice in Chains put out several albums since their departures, Starr and Staley’s rights make up some of the most commercially successful records the band released.
Companies like Primary Wave and Hipgnosis Songs Fund have played significant roles in kicking off the buying spree the industry has seen for the past several years, and now major investment companies like Blackstone and KKR have partnered with music companies offering significant funds to get more rights.
Staley and Starr’s estates join an extensive list of prominent songwriters, producers, and artists who’ve sold their rights, including David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Stevie Nicks, the latter of which also sold to Primary Wave. Artists and songwriters of all eras have been selling their rights in recent years as companies have become increasingly willing to offer deals previously unheard of to secure copyrights. The deals have been notably attractive to older artists and estates, who’ve chosen to leave musical legacies in the hands of music companies and take a sizable paycheck instead.
“Primary Wave is pleased to partner with the estates of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to honor their musical legacies as part of the classic era lineup of Alice in Chains, who created the amazing songs and records that comprise the albums Dirt and Facelift, and the acoustic EPs, Jar of Flies and Sap,” Primary Wave’s David Weitzman said in a statement. “These projects represent the greatest works from one of the best artists of the iconic Nineties Seattle-based grunge era.”
NEWS
Brad Paisley has called Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding “one of the least pretentious weddings he’s ever seen”.
The country star attended the ceremony alongside his actress wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. They joined around 1,000 guests at New York City’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month as the global pop icon married the American football star.
Although the celebration attracted enormous attention and involved tight security and a stunning makeover of the famous arena, Paisley said the occasion never came across as excessive.
“Ironically, (it) was one of the least pretentious weddings that I've ever seen or ever will see,” Paisley told The Associated Press during an interview. “It meant a lot to be (invited). It was, kind of, a big thank you from her to invite us.”
Paisley, who chose Swift as an opening performer for his tour when she was a teenager in 2007, said he was delighted to be included in what many considered the biggest celebrity wedding of the year.
“They were very clear with the invite, and I took this personally when I got the invite, because in the invite, it said, ‘If you're getting this, you mean a lot to us,’” he revealed.
The musician also explained that guests were not told the wedding’s exact location until the date drew nearer.
“It was really fun to watch the cat and mouse game of, like, ‘We can tell you roughly where it's going to be, we're not gonna say what building... and here's the date. If you're in, we'll tell you more,’” he continued. “I went to my wife, I said, ‘Want to go?’ and she said, ‘Absolutely, we gotta be there!’ So, we did it, it was RSVP yes.”
Other famous attendees included Brad Pitt, Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Grant, Haim and Tom Hanks.
