Mojo Music & Media, a new publishing and brand and legacy marketing company formed by Spirit Music Group founder Mark Fried, former Spirit SVP Peter Shane and former Ernst & Young executive Alan Wallis, has formally launched with the acquisition of Nashville-based HoriPro Entertainment Group.

The deal brings 15,000 songs, spanning 6 decades and reflecting more than 250 charted hits, including the collected works of ‘80s hit-makers REO Speedwagon, a 50 percent interest in the songs of hard rock pioneers KISS, the complete catalog of singer, songwriter and actor Jerry Reed and more than 25 hits and cuts by country legend George Strait, with whom the company has had a long relationship. Thanks to nearly 30 years of deals which saw HoriPro purchase such vaunted collections as Merit Music, Double J Music and Dick James Music’s Nashlon and Dejamus companies, the catalog boasts a trove of iconic songs chronicling the history of country music, including Top 10 singles by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Charly McClain, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Alabama, John Anderson, Diamond Rio, Gretchen Wilson, Toby Keith, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and The Band Perry, among others.

The company’s active writer roster, which includes Bart Butler, Joe Clemmons, Neil Medley, Sarah Allison Turner and Mike Walker, has turned in a steady stream of hits in recent years including Thomas Rhett’s “Make Me Wanna,” Sam Hunt’s “Make You Miss Me,” Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys Of Fall,” Jon Pardi’s “Head Over Boots” and “Heartache On The Dance Floor” and Rodney Atkins “Caught Up In The Country.”

With the deal, Mojo, which has offices in New York and London, opens its Nashville base in Berry Hill with former HoriPro executives Butch Baker (SVP Creative), Carrie Wilkins (VP Administration & Business Affairs) and song pluggers Keithan Melton and Courtney Crist, along with most of their support staff, continuing in their posts. The company has also appointed former HoriPro international executive Nobu Yamamoto to pursue new writer and catalog opportunities in Los Angeles and strengthen its presence in Japan and throughout Asia.

Mojo’s co-founders, Fried (CEO), Shane (CCO) and London-based Wallis (COO), a 30-year veteran of Ernst & Young’s valuation practice, opened doors in late 2017. Over the last year, the team concluded 11 publishing deals building a diverse catalog of hits and gems spanning eras and genres including the standards of Johnny Burke (“Misty,” “What’s New”) and Bernie Wayne (“Blue Velvet,” “Laughing On The Outside”) and the complete works of writer/artist Paul Evans (“Roses Are Red,” “When”), Stuart Weiner’s Wemar Music (“Pledging My Love,” “Castle Rock”), pioneering soul and rap writer/producer Bobby Robinson (“Need Your Lovin,” “Rockin’ It,” “Honey”), pop/folk artist Jud Strunk (“Daisy A Day”), writer/artist/Woodstock co-producer Artie Kornfeld (“The Pied Piper,” “Dead Man’s Curve,” “Rain The Park And Other Things”) and ‘90s soul artist/entrepreneur Joyce Irby (“I’d Still Say Yes,” “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” “Motownphilly”).

Fried and Shane, following two decades at Spirit during which they grew it into one of the leading independent publishing companies and compiled one of the strongest sync placement records in the industry, have already landed strategic licenses in a wide range of media including Universal‘s First Man, ABC’s The Goldbergs, CBS’ Young Sheldon, NBC’s This Is Us and Brooklyn-Nine-Nine, AMC’s The Walking Dead, FX‘s Snowfall and commercial campaigns for Mars, Walmart and Ford Motor Company.

In addition to offering a full suite of music publishing services, highlighted by transparent, real-time global royalty tracking and custom song and catalog promotion, Mojo is also a media company and will bring its songwriters and their teams together with writers, directors and distributors to produce a broad range of music-driven, brand-extending projects including books, films, theatricals, tribute albums, pop-up stores and installations, concert events and branded consumer products. The company will also work with clients to expand their digital footprint and drive greater engagement with fans via custom apps, curated playlists, podcasts, branded digital programming and social network initiatives.

According to Mark Fried, Mojo Music Founder and CEO, “I’m thrilled to be launching a new venture with driven, like-minded partners and surrounded by some of the best songs and songwriters on the planet.” He continued, “We aim to build a modern-day Brill Building, not only pitching songs and syncs like our lives depended on it but bringing our writers’ songs and stories to life across traditional and new media.”

Butch Baker, Mojo Music SVP said, “Mojo and HoriPro are a hand-in-glove fit! Anybody who knows us knows we’ve always been about our family of songs and songwriters. With Mojo, we now have the resources to super-serve them here in Nashville and take them beyond our borders into cross-genre co-writes, custom syncs and creative projects with tv, fim and new media producers all over the world.”

Big Loud Records has promoted Toronto’s Brianne Deslippe to the role of Vice President, Promotion (Canada), extending her initial three-year contract. Deslippe will also continue to oversee as General Manager for Canadian operations for the label and report directly to label President Clay Hunnicutt.

Since Deslippe’s arrival to Big Loud, the Windsor Ontario native has secured five No. 1 singles in Canada for the company, including “Take Back Home Girl” (Chris Lane featuring Tori Kelly), “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” (Jake Owen), “For Her” (Chris Lane), “Up Down” (Morgan Wallen ft. Florida Georgia Line) and “Down To The Honkytonk” (Jake Owen) and continues to expand the label’s presence north of the border with current projects from Wallen and Canadian-born MacKenzie Porter.

In addition, Big Loud has earned certified Platinum status in Canada for Chris Lane’s “Fix” and “Take Back Home Girl,” and Morgan Wallen’s “Up Down,” along with Gold certifications for Jake Owen’s “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” and “Down To The Honkytonk,” and Morgan Wallen’s “Whiskey Glasses.”

“Brianne continues to prove to everyone she is the top record promotions exec in Canada,” said Hunnicutt. “This new title and multi-year agreement represents how hard she has worked and how she continues to deliver every time for the entire roster of Big Loud artists. We would not be where we are today without Brianne!”

She can be reached via email at [email protected] or at 416-908-1717.

National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) members Downtown Music Publishing, Pulse Music Publishing, ole, peermusic, Ultra Music, Big Deal Music, Reservoir, Round Hill, TRO Essex Music Group, and The Royalty Network have filed a lawsuit against the digitally-connected workout company, Peloton, for infringement of more than a thousand musical works. The plaintiffs are seeking damages of over $150 million.

While the fitness technology company has licensed with some of the music publishing industry, it has failed to do so with a significant number of publishers, leaving a great deal of income lost to songwriters.

NMPA President & CEO David Israelite said:

“Music is a core part of the Peloton business model and is responsible for much of the brand’s swift success. Thousands of exclusive videos and playlists are a major reason hundreds of thousands of people have purchased Peloton products.

“Unfortunately, instead of recognizing the integral role of songwriters to its company, Peloton has built its business by using their work without their permission or fair compensation for years.

“It is frankly unimaginable that a company of this size and sophistication would think it could exploit music in this way without the proper licenses for this long, and we look forward to getting music creators what they deserve.”

Peloton has released thousands of music-driven videos that include unlicensed music recorded by artists such as Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa, Thomas Rhett, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Florida Georgia Line, Drake, Gwen Stefani and many more.

The company has been alleged to be willfully infringing since it launched at-home streaming capabilities in 2014. The brand offers a subscription service with over 13,000 workouts and the company was recently valued at $4 billion.

Florida Georgia Line, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Brandi Carlile, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Combs, Dan+Shay, and Ashley McBryde have been added to the powerhouse lineup of performers for the upcoming 54^th Academy Of Country Music Awards.

Those artists join the previously announced performers including Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and George Strait along with ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award honoree Jason Aldean. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

The awards telecast, hosted by Reba McEntire, will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.