The Deals: New K-Pop Girl Group AtHeart of Titan & Imperial Pact; Spotify Inks AI Audiobook Partnership

Titan Content formed a strategic partnership with Imperial Music (a division of Republic Records) to collaborate on its upcoming girl group, AtHeart. The group — which released a new teaser video and launched official social media channels alongside the announcement — will share a “pre-debut introduction song and video” on March 14, according to a press release. AtHeart consists of seven members: Michi, Katelyn, Seohyeon, Aurora, Bome, Arin and Nahyun. The group’s formation was led by former SM Entertainment CEO Nikki Semin Han.

Spotify began accepting audiobooks from ElevenLabs, an AI software company that provides voice narration technology. Authors can now distribute their ElevenLabs content to Spotify and other audiobook retailers via audiobook distributor Findaway Voices. According to a blog post, all digitally narrated titles will be “clearly marked in the metadata on Spotify” and other platforms, while the book description “will be prepended with the first sentence stating, ‘This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.’”

Korean entertainment group Starship Entertainment struck a copyright partnership with Chinese music platform NetEase Cloud Music. The deal brings Starship’s entire catalog, including Korean girl group IVE, to Chinese audiences. According to a press release, NetEase Cloud Music boasts 206 million monthly active users.

Universal Music Japan acquired a majority stake in A-Sketch, a Japanese artist management business and record label that boasts acts including Saucy Dog, Flumpool and Ayumu Imazu on its roster. A-Sketch is also home to Mash A&R, a rock management company in Japan that manages The Oral Cigarettes, FREDERIC and Saucy Dog. Under the deal, Universal Music Japan will acquire the stake in A-Sketch that’s currently owned by Amuse. A-Sketch will now operate as a label division within Universal Music Japan and continue to be led by A-Sketch representative director/president Nobuyuki Soma, who will report to Universal Music Japan president/CEO Naoshi Fujikura. “The acquisition will further bolster Universal Music Japan’s in-house artist management capabilities and expand its ability to drive new creative and commercial opportunities for its artists,” as stated in a press release.

Reservoir Media acquired U.K. dance and electronic label New State. The deal includes New State’s entire recorded music catalog consisting of more than 13,000 tracks by artists including Zero 7, The Beloved, Paul Oakenfold, Dirty Vegas, D:Ream, Double Trouble, Rebel MC and Congo Natty. Reservoir will continue marketing and releasing new music by New State artists via its Chrysalis Records label.

Create Music Group announced a strategic catalog acquisition and go-forward venture with Pack Records (a.k.a. Pack.), a New York and New Orleans-based indie record label, publisher and artist partnership company co-founded by Sky McElroy, Jett Wells and Gavin Chops. The companies previously established a publishing joint venture. Under the deal, Pack. and its artists will have access to Create’s proprietary technology, global distribution, data-driven marketing insights and monetization tools. Pack.’s roster includes aldn, CONNIE, Blood Cultures, daine, Dava and Godly the Ruler. Its catalog boasts recording and publishing rights “at the heart of internet and gaming culture viral moments,” according to a press release, including aldn’s “icantbelieveiletyougetaway,” Ezekiel’s “help_urself,” Godford’s “Downtown,” and Internet Girl’s “PULL UP,” as well as the CONNIE-produced “DIVE IN!” by JELEEL! and “Stupid” by Lexa Gates.

Hook, the AI-powered platform that allows users can legally remix songs and earn income for doing so, signed a strategic partnership with digital music distributor Too Lost. More than 300,000 artists and labels will be brought to Hook through the deal, including Teddy Swims, Tommy Richman, Ty Dolla $ign, Fivio Foreign, Kodak Black, Justin Beiber, Playboi Carti, James Blake, Pink Sweats and Emei. This is Hook’s fourth distribution partnership following deals with FUGA/Downtown, Revelator and Gyrostream.

iHeartMedia and the government communications office of the State of Qatar signed a multi-year partnership that aims to develop a state-of-the-art podcast studio in Qatar and release both original and existing podcast content to Arabic audiences. Under the agreement, iHeart will also offer specialized masterclasses to develop local podcasting talent and host global industry events, including annual Web Summit gatherings — the partnership was announced at this year’s Web Summit in Qatar — in an effort to position the Middle Eastern country as a regional podcasting hub.

Synch platform SourceAudio struck a deal with the Wolfman Jack estate through which the company will repurpose and discover new monetization opportunities for the radio legend’s shows. Through the AudioGenius tool on SongLab — SourceAudio’s AI-powered suite of music tools — the Wolfman Jack estate will be able to “reuse, repurpose, control, and monetize their valuable content archives across today’s digital platforms and ecosystem,” according to a press release. According to Tod Weston Smith, son of Wolfman Jack and president of Wolfman Jack Entertainment, AudioGenius “has significantly streamlined our process, allowing our Wolfman Jack team to access and retrieve clips from our extensive digital archives in seconds, rather than spending hours searching, and we are now able to generate additional revenue from previously underutilized or unused content.”

SoundCloud partnered with Ticketmaster and its self-serve event ticketing and marketing platform Universe in an integration that will allow SoundCloud’s Artist Pro users to create and manage events; sell tickets and share shows directly on the streaming platform; and enjoy amplification opportunities across SoundCloud, Ticketmaster and Universe. They will also have the ability to use Universe to manage and track ticket sales.