Sony/ATV Extends Worldwide Agreement with Kasabian

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has today announced it has extended its long-term worldwide deal with British rock band Kasabian and their principal songwriter Sergio Pizzorno.

The new agreement covers all of Kasabian's catalogue and future releases as well as Pizzorno's songwriting for projects outside the group.

Sony/ATV UK Managing Director and President of European Creative Guy Moot said: "We are proud to have signed this new deal with Kasabian. Serge has an incredible catalogue of songs with so much more still to come and he should be rightfully acknowledged as one of the best contemporary British songwriters around."

Sergio Pizzorno said: "I am delighted to continue my longstanding relationship with Guy and his team. Their support over the years has been invaluable and allowed me to grow as a songwriter and an artist."

The creative contact on the deal is Janice Brock, Sony/ATV UK Director of A&R.

Since the release of the band's self-titled first studio album a decade ago, Kasabian have established themselves as one of the most successful British groups in contemporary music with their last four albums having all debuted at No. 1 in the UK, while in February they won three awards, including best British band and best album for 48:13 at the NME Awards. This followed them being named Best Live Act in the World Today at the 2014 Q Awards in London.

Comprising Tom Meighan, Sergio Pizzorno, Chris Edwards and Ian Matthews, the band were formed in their home city of Leicester in the East Midlands of England in 1997, achieving a UK chart breakthrough in 2004 with the single "Club Foot". It was one of four UK Top 20 hits that featured on debut album Kasabian alongside "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)", "Processed Beats" and "Cutt Off", while the album itself went on to sell more than one million copies just in the UK.

Since the release of their second album Empire in 2006 every one of the group's studio albums has reached No. 1 in the UK, while each has delivered a series of hit singles. The title track of Empire became a UK Top 10 hit, while 2009 album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum featured "Where Did All The Love Go?", "Underdog" and "Fire", with the latter peaking at No. 3 on the Official UK Singles Chart and recognised by Mojo magazine as Song of the Year. West Ryder... was named Best Album of 2009 by the NME and at the Q Awards, was shortlisted for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize and nominated as best British Album at the 2010 BRIT Awards where Kasabian were voted Best British Group.

Their fourth album Velociraptor! was released in 2011 and as well as landing them with another UK No. 1 also reached the Australian Top 10, became their second Top 10 hit in Japan where they remain one of the UK's most successful musical exports, and made the Top 40 in a number of other countries, including Germany, France and Italy. The album featured the hits "Days Are Forgotten" and "Goodbye Kiss".

Led off by the hit single "Eez-eh", Kasabian's most recent studio album 48:13 was released in 2014 in a banner year for the group in which they headlined the main Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival, were crowned Best Act In The World Today for a second time at the Q Awards where they additionally beat acts including Kate Bush, the Arctic Monkeys and Jack White to be crowned Best Live Act, played a homecoming gig in Victoria Park, Leicester in front of 60,000 people to mark to 10th anniversary of their debut album and completed a hugely successful UK tour with five sold-out nights at the O2 Academy Brixton.

ABOUT SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING:
Sony/ATV Music Publishing, established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Michael Jackson, is the world's leading music publisher. Together with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV owns or administers around 3 million copyrights including those from such iconic music catalogs like Leiber & Stoller, Mijac Music, Motown and Famous Music. Sony/ATV also controls many of the best known songs ever written like "New York, New York", "Hallelujah", "All You Need Is Love", "You've Got a Friend", "Moon River", "Jailhouse Rock", "The Mission Impossible Theme", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Over the Rainbow", "Stand By Me", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Singin' in the Rain". In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Kraftwerk, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Richie Sambora, Sting, The Supremes, Wyclef Jean, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others. Its ever-growing list of chart-topping artists, writers and producers includes Akon, Avicii, Calvin Harris, Jessie J, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, P!nk, RedOne, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Stargate, Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

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