Wiz Khalifa Signs Worldwide Co-Publishing Deal With Warner/Chappell Music

via the press release

Warner/Chappell recently signed a worldwide co-publishing deal with up-and-coming Pittsburgh rapper, Wiz Khalifa. Khalifa blew up in early 2010 when, after releasing a steady stream of mixtapes, he unleashed the critically-acclaimed, Kush and Orange Juice. The mixtape proved to be an online phenomenon, quickly becoming the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hashtag #kushandorangejuice. Since then, Khalifa’s online presence has skyrocketed, with more than 470,000 fans following him on Twitter, more than one million “Likes” on his Facebook page, and nearly 9 million profile views and 33 million plays at his official MySpace page.

Khalifa has had a breakthrough 2010: he signed with Atlantic Records in June, he was named MTV’s “Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010,” and he recently wrapped up a massive North American tour dubbed the “Waken Baken Tour.” Khalifa’s current single, “Black & Yellow,” produced by super-production duo Stargate, is quickly racing up the charts, as its currently No. 29 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Khalifa’s 2009 full-length mixtape, Deal or No Deal, peaked at No. 1 on iTunes’ Top Hip-Hop/Rap Albums chart, No. 2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 10 on Billboard’s Rap Albums chart.

Wiz Khalifa is one of those true, internet-success stories you always hear about. He released his music through the Web, it spread like wildfire, and his fans rallied around him until he broke through to the next level. He has worked extremely hard to get where he is and Warner/Chappell is a great place to ensure that that momentum keeps going.
- Scott Francis, President, Warner/Chappell Music, and Chairman and CEO, Warner/Chappell Music U.S.

The Runners Sign With Warner/Chappell Music To Worldwide Administration Agreement

via the press release

Warner/Chappell Music, the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp., announced it has signed a worldwide administration agreement with The Runners, the hit production team comprised of Jermaine “Mayne” Jackson and Andrew “Dru Brett” Harr. As part of the agreement, Warner/Chappell will administer both Jackson’s and Harr’s interests in all of their future works and select catalog titles.

The Runners have built a solid reputation as a leading hip-hop production team and have also achieved critical and commercial successes in both Pop and R&B. They work across an expanding range of musical styles and collaborated on hit songs for a number of popular songwriters and producers, including Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, T.I., Trey Songz, Rick Ross, Usher, Chris Brown, Akon, Keyshia Cole, Fabolous, Ludacris and Mary J. Blige.

Mayne and Dru are extraordinarily talented songwriters who started out with great success in the hip-hop world. To see them expand the scope of that success into a broader range of musical genres like pop and R&B is especially exciting. We are proud to have them join the Warner/Chappell family and look forward to opening new doors for them.
- Scott Francis, President, Warner/Chappell Music, and Chairman and CEO, Warner/Chappell Music U.S.

We are excited about creating lots of smashes together.
- Jermaine “Mayne” Jackson

It is gratifying to be in business with a publishing company that has the resources and talent to allow us to have continued success.
- Andrew “Dru Brett” Harr

Gucci Mane Signs Music Publishing Deal With Warner Chappell

via the press release

Warner/Chappell Music, the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG), (March 11) announced it has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Atlanta-based Warner Bros. Records/Asylum recording artist, Gucci Mane. Warner/Chappell Music will administer a majority of Gucci Mane’s catalog of work, his recently-released second studio album, The State vs. Radric Davis, as well as his future compositions.

Released on December 8, 2009, The State vs. Radric Davis debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Rap Album chart, No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 10 on The Billboard 200.

The first single from the album, “Wasted” (featuring Plies and OJ Da Juiceman) reached No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. A second and third single from the album, “Spotlight” (featuring Usher) and “Lemonade,” both reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs charts.

In making the announcement, Scott Francis, President, Warner/Chappell Music, and Chairman and CEO, Warner/Chappell Music U.S., said, “Not only has Gucci Mane quickly become one of today's most successful new urban recording artists, but he has also proven to be one of the most sought-after collaborators for guest appearances on hit singles. His incredible recent mark of having 11 songs appear on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the same week is an impressive display of his songwriting talent. We are thrilled to have him join our Urban roster and look forward to working with him to continue his success in the future.”

Since bursting onto the music scene in 2005, Gucci Mane has made guest appearances on a number of hit singles and remixes which, in 2009, earned him the No. 6 spot on MTV’s annual “Hottest MCs in the Game” list. In January 2010, Gucci Mane held 11 positions on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, tying T-Pain for the second most concurrent titles on that chart since the list began using Nielsen SoundScan data in 1992 -- second only to the 14 positions once held by his fellow Warner/Chappell songwriter Lil Wayne. Some of these titles include: “Obsessed,” (remix) the Platinum-certified hit song by five-time Grammy Award-winning artist Mariah Carey; “Break Up,” recorded by Mario which reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart and spent 17 in the top 10 as well as reaching No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles charts; “LOL :-)” by Warner/Chappell’s Trey Songz and “Pretty Girls” by Warner/Chappell’s Wale.

Additionally, Gucci Mane has worked with a number of recording artists including: Big Boi, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Kim, Ludacris, Omarion, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, and Young Jeezy.