Downtown Music Acquires Portion Of Major Bob Music

Pictured (L-R): Emily Stephenson, Director of Global Client Services at Downtown; Steve Markland, VP of A&R Nashville at Downtown; Linda Edell-Howard of Adams and Reese LLP; Justin Kalifowitz, CEO of Downtown; Bob Doyle, Owner & President of Major Bob Music; Andrew Sparkler, SVP of Business Affairs at Downtown; Sam Powers of O’Neil Hagaman, PLLC

Downtown Music Publishing has announced a deal to acquire a portion of the song catalogs of publisher and artist development company, Major Bob Music.

Under the agreement, Downtown has acquired over 2,000 copyrights including hits such as “I Like The Sound Of That” and “Fast Cars and Freedom” by Rascal Flatts, “Crash & Burn” and “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett, “Dirt On My Boots” by Jon Pardi, “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” and “I’ve Got A Feeling” by Billy Currington, “Where It’s At” by Dustin Lynch, “American Honey” by Lady Antebellum, “There Goes My Life” by Kenny Chesney, “Commitment” by LeAnn Rimes, “Strange” by Reba McEntire, “Our Time Now” by Plain White T’s, and “Fly Over States” by Jason Aldean.

The deal specifically excludes the Garth Brooks catalog and any songs recorded by Garth Brooks.

On the signing, Bob Doyle, Owner & President of Major Bob Music, said, “We have found a great fit in Downtown Music Publishing. With their dedication to transparency and creative marketing services, Downtown will take great care of these catalogs.”

“It is a tremendous honor and privilege to be trusted by Bob to become the caretakers of these extraordinary copyrights that have defined success here in Nashville, for all these years,” said Steve Markland, Vice President, A&R of Downtown’s Nashville operation. “We have a deep commitment to finding new opportunities for songs of this caliber.”

Major Bob Music was represented in the transaction by Sam Powers and Kerry O’Neil from O’Neil Hagaman, PLLC, with legal representation from Linda Edell-Howard of Adams and Reese LLP. Downtown was represented by Jordan Keller and Sarah Smith from Keller Turner Ruth Andrews & Ghanem, PLLC.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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