Peermusic Sings Douglas Lyons and Ethan Pakchar to Worldwide Publishing Deal

peermusic has signed renowned musical theater composing team Douglas Lyons and Ethan Pakchar to an exclusive global publishing deal, as announced today by Kathy Spanberger, President, peermusic, and Carter Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Film and Television. The deal encompasses all future works as well as part of the duo's catalog, including musicals Beau and Lyons' Polkadots.

Lyons and Pakchar have multiple existing stage and screen projects, including Five Points with Hamilton Tony-winner Andy Blankebeuhler. peermusic will leverage its creative resources and global network to create new opportunities for them within the growing market for on-screen musical theater.

The origins of peermusic's deal with Lyons and Pakchar trace back to the 2019 National Alliance for Musical Theater (NAMT) Festival, where Carter Armstrong, Mary Megan Peer (CEO, peermusic), and Alison Danenberg (Manager, Film/TV, peermusic) attended a songwriter showcase that featured two songs from Lyons and Pakchar's new musical, Beau. Blown away by the music, the peermusic executives approached the writing team in the lobby and the rest is history.

"Musical theater has been a central part of the music publishing business since its earliest days in Tin Pan Alley, and the global audience for it has never been bigger. Douglas and Ethan are among the most talented songwriting partnerships working in musical theater today, so we're honored to have them join peermusic," said Kathy Spanberger.

"Douglas and Ethan have some incredible material for stage and screen in the works. The rise in demand for musical theater compositions that we've seen among our clients is remarkable, so there's no limit to the opportunities for composers of their caliber," said Carter Armstrong.

"We are overjoyed to make history at peermusic as their first musical theater composers. From the moment we met Carter, Kathy, Mary Megan, Alison and the rest of the peermusic team, it was crystal clear that they shared a love for our music and a passionate belief in us. This new partnership is the perfect way to kick off 2021. We're excited to get to work," said Douglas Lyons and Ethan Pakchar.

Lyons and Pakchar met on The Book of Mormon tour in 2012; Lyons, an actor on stage and Pakchar, the tour's guitarist. Since then, their works have played or been developed at Roundabout Theater Company, Lincoln Center, Papermill Playhouse, Musical Theatre Factory, Theater Latte Da, Goodspeed Musicals, The Fifth Ave Theatre, and many more. Their additional theater projects include Breathe with famed author Jodi Picoult,Beau (Adirondack Theatre Festival, Sony Masterworks Album), The Hamlet Remix, and Theatreworks USA's We The People. The duo is based in New York City.

Photo credit: Michael Kushner

To post a comment, you must register and login.