FLAMEBOY UNIVERSE SIGNS WITH SONY/ATV

Mbabane – Firebrand local hip hop artist and MTN SWAMA 2017 Best Newcomer award winner Flameboy Universe has clinched a lucrative global publishing deal with showbiz giants Sony/ATV.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is the world’s number one music publishing company with a network of 37 offices in 29 cities and 22 countries across the globe.

Headquartered in New York, the company owns or administers more than three million copyrights, including those from such iconic music catalogues as Jobete/Motown, Famous Music, Leiber and Stoller and Mijac Music. It became a solely-owned Sony company in 2016.
The company is a full-service music publisher with its interests including not only a world-class roster of songs and songwriters, but an industry-leading synchronisation operation and production music businesses; Extreme and EMI Production Music.

Transpired

The local hip hop artist’s deal  transpired last Wednesday, when the ‘Nowadays’ hit-maker signed a publishing contract with SONY/ATV at their regional offices in Johannesburg, South Africa.
 “The deal is set to raise Flameboy Universe’s songwriting and composer profile to the same revered status that he enjoys as a performing artist. The partnership will ensure that Flameboy Universe is represented by a publisher that has a worldwide presence, which gives them an opportunity to connect with other esteemed songwriters from Sony/ATV’s catalogue,” explained his Manager, Zwelakhe Mfanelo Simelane.

Simelane said they had been looking for a publisher that would understand their vision; that of putting their music onto the global market, and were ecstatic over finding a world leader in SONY/ATV. 
 “Having listened to Flameboy Universe’s material, Sony/ATV were instantly interested in giving us a deal, as they described his sound as eccentric, modern and futurist,” revealed Simelane.

Flameboy Universe’s debut album ‘Rich People’ had been published under Sheer Publishing Africa, and featured runaway hits like ‘Dancing Alone’, ‘Phunyuka bamphethe’, ‘Nowadays’ and ‘Believe me’, among others.
SONY/ATV’s representative, Mpumi Khubeka said they were excited to have fresh and hungry talent on board. He further said they will be working on ways to grow the artist’s brand across the world.

Meanwhile, SWAMA Secretary General Bongani Dube has welcomed news of Flameboy Universe’s signing with SONY/ATV, describing the move as empowering.

Congratulate

“SWAMA would like to congratulate Flameboy Universe and his management for their hard work in professionalising the business end of their music. Deals with big publishers like SONY/ATV are quite seldom, potentially lucrative, and game-changing; hence this is truly a historic moment for our arts in Eswatini. We wish the artist nothing but the best as he penetrates the global market,” said Dube.

Born Sakhile Mavimbela, Flameboy Universe broke into the mainstream scene in 2017 when his debut official single ‘Nowadays’ dominated the airwaves. The song became the first Eswatini record to stream on Tidal, an online music streaming platform owned by hip hop mogul Jay Z. It was crowned the third best song of the year 2017 in the then SBIS Top 40 of the Year Hits.

 The artist released his debut album ‘Rich People’, which was distributed online by langalam.com. The album also had physical copies which sold out in early 2018.
The young and ambition-driven artist has shared stages with several local and South African prominent artists, and has graced the prestigious MTN Bushfire Festival amphitheatre stage. He is currently working on new material, which will be released and published under SONY/ATV.

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