These are boom times for hit songwriters, with catalogs being snapped up by Hipgnosis, Shamrock and others — and the latest big acquisition comes from Spirit Music Group, which announced that it has acquired the publishing catalog of Grammy-nominated songwriter and former “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed beyond stating that “The agreement encompasses a large portion of DioGuardi’s back catalog.”
Among the songs included in the deal are the hits “Sober” by Pink, “Heartbeat Song” by Kelly Clarkson and “Undo It” by Carrie Underwood. DioGuardi’s credits also include work with Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Jason Derulo, Demi Lovato, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Underwood, Colbie Caillat, Enrique Iglesias, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Darius Rucker, Faith Hill, Santana and more. She has won 21 BMI awards, including BMI’s 2007 Songwriter of the Year award. She’s had over 320 songs released by major labels, 150 songs on Platinum selling albums, and over 50 charting singles. She is also an established record producer, executive, music publisher and author, starred as Roxie Hart in the Broadway musical “Chicago,” and is a current board member of the MLC.
“Kara is an exceptionally talented songwriter whose songs have and continue to define an era in pop music. Her song catalog is full of evergreen hits that people will continue to love and listen to for many, many years to come. It’s not every day you get a chance to participate in a catalog like that so we’re very happy and we’re honored to be the stewards of such a special collection of music,” said Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group.
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“When I met with Jon and the Spirit team, it was obvious that they take a music-first approach to publishing. That confirmed for me that Spirit would be the best place for these songs,” said Kara DioGuardi.
“There were a lot of different partners we considered for this deal, but in the end Kara and I both felt confident that Spirit was the best one to continue to build on her music’s already incredible legacy, and help her songs reach a new generation of fans,” said Stephen Finfer, ArtHouse Entertainment.
In January, Spirit Music Group executives Jon Singer and Ross Cameron formed Lyric Capital Group to take ownership of Spirit Music Group and secure a recapitalization of over $350 million. The capital raise allows Spirit to continue to build upon its already impressive legacy and community of renown
