Primary Wave has acquired a stake in the music assets of the late Harry Chapin, the singer-songwriter whose songs “Taxi” and “Cat’s in the Cradle” were big hits back in the 1970s. While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, the acquisition, described as a partnership in the press release, probably includes a significant majority stake in the assets, as is Primary Wave’s usual modus operandi when it comes to acquisitions. Besides Chapin’s publishing, the deal includes the recorded master royalties and name, image and likeness.
As part of the deal, the Chapin estate gains access to Primary Wave’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure. The estate will work closely with the company on new marketing, branding, digital and synch opportunities as well as film and TV projects, according to the announcement, which says the Chapin album catalog has sold more than 16 million albums worldwide. That catalog encompasses 11 albums and 14 singles.
However, sales and other activity have slowed down from the catalog’s heyday. For the last two years, Chapin’s U.S. activity averaged about 43,000 album consumption units a year. Within that, on-demand streaming averaged nearly 54 million streams during the same two-year period, according to Luminate data. When global streams — including the U.S. — are taken into account, on-demand streams average 77 million streams in each of the two years. In other words, the estate probably realizes more business from the U.S. than abroad.
On the other hand, that means there is plenty of upside potential once Primary Wave unleashes its marketing team on the Chapin catalog.
“My family is incredibly impressed with Primary Wave and their remarkably talented team,” Chapin’s son Jason said in a statement. “We are so excited to support them as they introduce Harry Chapin music to wider and younger audiences while giving long-time fans more of what they love.”
During his career, Chapin was nominated for the best new artist Grammy, while his song “Cat’s In The Cradle was nominated in the best male pop vocal performance category. The RIAA included that song on its “songs of the century” list, while it was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Primary Wave announcement states. Chapin was also posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to honor his humanitarian work fighting world hunger.
“Harry Chapin’s unique gift as a storyteller and his ability to capture experiences that are at once personal and universally relatable make him one of the all-time greats, and an incredible addition to Primary Wave’s roster of legendary singer-songwriters,” Cole Rushworth, Primary Wave’s senior director of business & legal affairs, said in a statement. “It has been a true pleasure working with the Chapin family to bring this partnership to life and we are honored to have the opportunity to uphold Harry’s legacy.”
Barry Massarsky of Citrin Cooperman served as advisor while Fox Rothchild’s Cynthia Katz and Zach Blumenfeld represented the estate.
