Primary Wave Acquires Neil Sedaka Catalogue

Primary Wave teamed up with Neil Sedaka to acquire a stake in the master and publishing rights to the star. Considered perhaps the world's first teenage pop star, Sedaka began his career in 1957 and went on to have hits such as “Love Will Keep Us Together,” “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Laughter in the Rain,” “Calendar Girl “, “Oh! Carol” and “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen”.

Sedaka has earned his share of accolades over the years, including five Grammy nominations. He has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was one of the first musical guests on Saturday Night Live.

After starting out as one of the top performers of the late 1950s, she focused on writing hits for other artists, including Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, The Monkees and The Fifth Dimension.

During the British Invasion, he continued to cultivate a strong fan base in the UK, and in the early 1970s he was reintroduced to American audiences by Elton John, who signed Sedaka to his new label Rocket Records. As he gained recognition through songs such as “Bad Blood” and “Laughter in the Rain” as part of the Rocket deal, one of his first songs, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”, was re-released as a ballad to great success and became the second song in history to have two versions of the same song enter the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, Captain and Tennille won Record of the Year for “Love Will Keep Us Together,” which was co-written by Sedaka.

A classically trained Juilliard graduate, Sendaka embraced his roots at 21^St century, composing symphonies and piano concertos such as 'Joie De Vivre' and 'Manhattan Intermezzo', both of which were recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

This deal includes Sedaka's entire catalog, including all the compositions he wrote and all the recordings he performed. Other legendary artists have also performed and recorded his works, including Elvis Presley, Connie Francis and Abba. Although these recordings are not part of the deal, Primary Wave still benefits on the publishing side given Sedaka's writing credits.

Primary Wave, known as an active and creative catalog buyer and publisher, will help strengthen Sedaka's projects with the help of its in-house marketing, digital strategy, licensing, syndication and film/TV production teams.

“I am thrilled to be part of this partnership with Primary Wave – an organization I have long admired for their unwavering commitment and dedication to the artists they represent,” Sedaka says of the deal. “After nearly 70 years in the music business, I've been able to separate the talking heads from the real deal, and Larry and his team at Primary Wave are about as real as it gets. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship that will allow me to work side-by-side with this amazing organization and finally give my extensive song collection the attention and exposure it deserves.”

Madeline Boyd, Primary Wave's director of finance and investments adds, “We are thrilled to welcome Neil Sedaka to the Primary Wave family. As a singer and songwriter, Neil has built an iconic catalog that has transcended decades and genres. We look forward to continuing to create new opportunities for his timeless songs together.”