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
There’s a high probability that Jorja Smith has new music coming this summer. The British singer revealed plans for her What Are the Odds LP on Thursday (July 2), with the album set to arrive on Aug. 21 via FAMM.
Smith reunites with producer P2J — who served as a primary collaborator on her 2023 album Falling or Flying — for the entirety of the project. J Money and P2J will continue to build on the inventive U.K. garage sound Smith has been exploring, alongside a mix of grime and house.
“This album came together really naturally. There was never a big plan; it was just me making music that felt right in the moment,” Smith tells Billboard. “Working with P2J, we started experimenting with different sounds, pulling from U.K. garage, grime and house (funky house, Afro house) and it all grew from there.”
She continues: “The music feels uplifting, but the lyrics can be a bit sad at times. They’re about growing up, love, loss, friendships and figuring things out as I go. I trusted my instincts with this one, and I think you can hear that throughout the record.”
Smith kicked off the album’s rollout in May with the self-assuring “What’s Done Is Done,” and it continues on Thursday (July 2) with a second single, “Alive,” which finds the R&B singer joining forces with Afrobeats pioneer WizKid. The duo basks in the love-drunk euphoria of the honeymoon phase of a bubbling relationship and heads to Paris for the visual.
“Making this with P2J and WizKid felt really easy,” Smith adds of the collab. “We wrote and recorded it together in London. I think we captured that feeling when you’re at the beginning of something with someone and everything feels exciting. I’ve always loved WizKid’s music and the way he’s opened so many doors for Afrobeats around the world, so it feels really special and a big honor to have a song with him.”
What Are the Odds serves as Jorja Smith’s third studio album and contains 12 tracks. Outside of WizKid, the only other feature comes from grime artist Devlin.
When the project lands on Aug. 21, Smith will hit the stage later that night at London’s All Points East, as she’ll be co-headlining the Victoria Park show with Tems. 2026 has already been a busy year for J Money, who served as a musical guest on the debut season of Saturday Night Live UK in April.
The 29-year-old also collaborated with Mobb Deep’s Havoc for a remix of her “Blue Lights” classic and lent “Price of It All” to Amazon MGM Studios’ Bait soundtrack.
Find the What Are the Odds cover art and tracklist below.
What Are the Odds tracklist:
