Sony/ATV signs WALK THE MOON to Global Publishing Deal

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has today announced it has signed a worldwide deal with alternative rock band WALK THE MOON.

The agreement takes in the group's catalog and future songs and includes their current single "Shut Up and Dance", which has become one of the biggest hits of the year having broken into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Alternative and Rock Songs charts in the U.S.

Sony/ATV Co-President, U.S. Rick Krim said: "We are incredibly excited to be working with this great band who are enjoying the biggest hit of their career right now. WALK THE MOON have been on my radar since their first record when I was at VH1 and we made them a You Oughta Know artist, so it's great to see them having this success."

Sony/ATV Senior Creative Director Tyler Childs said: "We're so thrilled to be working with a band the caliber of WALK THE MOON. I'm excited to work closely with their manager Michael McDonald and his team at Mick to deliver for an act who is global priority for us. With Rick joining, this deal was a true team effort."

The band's manager Michael McDonald said: "Sony ATV has a history of stellar, even legendary, songwriters. I'm thrilled to have WALK THE MOON included among them. I look forward to working alongside Tyler, Rick, Marty and the rest of the Sony/ATV team to move WALK THE MOON into the next level of well-deserved success."

Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, WALK THE MOON were formed in 2008 and independently released their debut album I Want! I Want! in November 2010. After they signed a recording deal with RCA Records and were named as one of MTV's 2012 Artists To Watch, the group's self-titled first official album was released in June 2012 and made the U.S. Top 40. It featured the single "Anna Sun", which reached the Top 10 hit of Billboard's Alternative Songs chart as well as the Rock Songs Top 20, while was named Song of the Summer by both MTV and Esquire magazine. Another album cut, "Tightrope", also became a Rock and Alternative hit.

The group's big breakthrough came with the release in September last year of the single "Shut Up and Dance", which has already spent more than five months climbing the Billboard Hot 100 and in April moved into the Top 10 for the first time, reaching a peak to date of No. 5. It has additionally made it to No. 1 on both Billboard's Alternative and Rock Songs charts, while achieving platinum status from the RIAA for 1 million U.S. sales. The song has additionally become a hit in a number of other territories, including Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden, and just been added to the playlist of BBC Radio 2, the U.K.'s most popular radio station. It is taken from the group's album TALKING IS HARD, which was released last December and has to date reached a peak of No. 14 on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S.

WALK THE MOON have recently supported the album with a two-month North American tour, which concluded on May 9 at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and will be followed by a series of live dates in the U.K. and U.S. summer festival appearances.

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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