LONDON — Two of the UK's leading music management companies have joined forces after ATC Management acquired a majority stake in Raw Power Management, whose clients include rock bands Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine.
Financial terms reveal ATC paid 1.4 million pounds ($1.8 million) for a 55 percent stake in Raw Power, which was founded in 2006 by CEO Craig Jennings, Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor. Based in London and offices in Los Angeles, Raw Power's other clients include The Mars Volta, The Damned, You Me At Six, Don Broco, Heartworms, Kid Kapichi, The Chisel and Refused.
As part of the new partnership, Raw Power's UK team, including Jennings and commercial director Don Jenkins, will be transferred to ATC Management's headquarters in London. The LA-based operations of both companies will also merge with immediate effect.
Raw Power employs 14 people across its UK and US offices. The company said there would be no job losses due to the deal.
According to a regulatory financial filing, Raw Power generated revenue of £2.3 million ($2.9 million) in the year ending February 28, 2023. Pre-tax profit was £326,000 ($412,000).
As part of the majority stake deal, ATC will lend Raw Power up to £1.3 million ($1.6 million) in additional capital to repay historical debt. Among those liabilities Companies House records include a £1.9 million ($2.4 million) loan from Phantom Music Management, the company of Iron Maiden's long-time manager (and co-founder of Raw Power) Rod Smallwood.
Since its inception in 2006, Raw Power has built itself into one of the leading rock artist management companies in Europe.
Bring Me The Horizon, managed by Jennings and the label's US president, Matt Ashwon Best Rock/Alternative Performance at this year's Brit Awards and has surpassed 1 billion Spotify streams and more than 5 million equivalent album sales worldwide.
The British band's latest album, 2020 Post Human: Survival Horror, topped the charts in the UK and reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart. A sold-out UK and Ireland tour in January sold 140,000 tickets across 10 dates, Raw Power says.
ATC Management was founded in 1996, initially as a boutique ticketing and marketing business before focusing on artist management. Part of the independent ATC Group, which also includes live booking agency ATC Live, merchandise company Sandbag and livestream business Driift, the management business represents more than 60 artists including Nick Cave, The Smile, PJ Harvey, Yaeji and Johnny Marr. ATC Live represents more than 500 acts, while Sandbag has relationships with 750 artists.
In 2021, ATC Group, which is headquartered in London with offices in Los Angeles and New York, was listed on the UK Aquis Stock Exchange.
Commenting on the deal, Raw Power's Jennings said the merger with ATC marked “a new era” for both companies and would transform them into a “power generation organisation”.
“Both ATC and Raw Power value integrity, loyalty to the acts we care for, passion for music and doing everything for the benefit of our artists,” Jennings said in a statement. “It seems like a huge opportunity to take our artists to a whole new level.”
“At our heart, our two companies share a common purpose – to support artists and empower them to achieve their creative and commercial goals,” he said. Adam Driscoll, CEO, ATC Group. “By concentrating and combining forces, the ability to achieve these goals has increased significantly.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/management/atc-raw-power-merger-uk-artist-management-powerhouse-1235684373/
