Primary Wave Entertainment

History

The company was founded in January 2006 by music executive Larry Mestel, and is one of the largest independent entertainment companies in the U.S. with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and London. Since its origin as a music publishing company, Primary Wave has grown its business into a full service music and entertainment company with additional in-house resources such as a Talent Management department, digital marketing agency BrightShop, branding agency Brand Synergy Group, and a film/TV development & production division, Primary Wave TV.

On November 10, 2014, as first reported by Variety, Mark Burg’s Evolution Management merged into Primary Wave's Talent Management division and will operate under the Primary Wave name. The partnership also offers Primary Wave Music’s talent roster the ability to tap the Evolution managers’ reach in film and TV while further enabling both companies to expand their development projects.

On January 19, 2015, Primary Wave unveiled details of a merging it’s talent management division with Intellectual Artists Management, to be named Primary Wave Entertainment. By uniting Primary Wave’s expertise in music, branding and digital with Intellectual’s strong hold on the film/tv industry, the newly formed talent management team will provide full access and opportunities for their roster across multiple platforms from music and film to TV and literary.

Publishing

Primary Wave Music Publishing was founded in 2006 after the purchase of 50% of Kurt Cobain’s portion of the Nirvana (band) catalog, as well as the MGM Records catalog. Currently, one of the largest indie music publishers in the US, the company markets the copyrights of over 15,000 songs from the catalogs of legendary and contemporary artists and songwriters, including Hall & Oates, Def Leppard, Chicago, John Lennon, Roccstar, L.P. (singer), Steven Tyler, Steve Earle, Daniel Johnston, Ryan Hadlock, and many more.

In addition to landing sync placements in film, TV, advertising, video games, and new media, Primary Wave has also spearheaded creative licensing deals for their publishing clients. Examples include brokering a deal with Converse in 2008 to create a limited edition run of Kurt Cobain sneakers, which included graphic designs, his signature, and song lyrics on the sneakers. In 2009, Primary Wave executed an Aerosmith marketing campaign with the 1st-ever artist branded scratch-off lottery ticket, which featured Aerosmith’s likeness and was also promoted by a TV campaign featuring the band’s iconic rock anthem, “Dream On”, in 11 states across the US. Part of the campaign allowed fans to scratch off prizes such as free concert tickets, backstage passes, and even a private performance by the band. That same year, Primary Wave also created an animated cartoon J-stache, based on John Oates of Hall & Oates' signature moustache, which debuted on Funny or Die. In 2012, Primary Wave partnered with Boom! Studios and Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment to release underground musician and artist Daniel Johnston debut graphic novel, Space Ducks: An Infinite Comic Book of Musical Greatness. BMG joined forces with Primary Wave in 2013 to create a new shop for artists looking to switch labels and those who aren’t signed to a traditional business.

Talent Management

Launched in 2010, Primary Wave Talent Management currently has managers based in New York, Los Angeles, London and Detroit and includes various divisions including Film & TV, Literary, Music (pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic dance music).