PUB CRAWLING

Sony/ATV Music Publishing hit the ground running in the New Year, with a number of huge successes, including a U.S. and U.K. #1 with Lady GaGa’s Grammy-nominated “Just Dance,” penned by fellow clients Akon and RedOne. Team Bandier struck pay dirt with Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and “Womanizer,” co-written and produced by K. Briscoe. They’ve also added ex-American Idol winner Ruben Studdard to their Hickory Records roster, and looking forward to the release of the Beatles Rock Band later this year… Now that Jason Flom has relocated his Lava label to Universal Republic, expect him to start negotiating a publishing deal, with plenty of suitors lining up… Is Bug Music planning to launch its own record label for the artists it represents? Seems to be a growing trend in the sector. In other company news, CEO John Rudolph just named Roger Murrah to head its Nashville office, also acquiring his Murrah Music catalog… EMI Music Publishing inked a long-term deal to continue representing songs from jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie… Look for some big announcements in the weeks to come from a revitalized Warner/Chappell under new President Scott Francis… Mega-attorney John Branca is currently shopping a big-bucks publishing deal for Broadway legends Rodgers and Hammerstein that is close to done… David Renzer’s Universal Music Publishing Group has acquired the Notting Hill Music catalog. The company, with offices in London and L.A., was founded in 1990 as the repertoire division of the Japanese Nippon TV Music Corporation, and now has a 30k+ catalog under President Peter Chalcraft… Larry Mestel’s Primary Wave stays busy, inking Fugees collaborator John Forte and holding a big Grammy eve shindig in Beverly Hills… UMPG Australia has inked red-hot Dew Process Publishing, home of cult bands Shout Out Louds, Tokyo Police Club and Tilly and the Wall. UMPG Australia’s roster includes Wolfmother, Powderfinger, Jet and The Living End, among others… Gloria Estefan will be honored as a BMI Icon March 12 at the 16th annual Latin Awards, being held this year in Palm Beach, FL… Fiana Kwasnik has joined BMI as Director of Business Affairs, supporting licensing efforts in the broadcast TV, radio, cable TV and satellite radio and DBS marketplaces. She still hasn’t found the remote control stuck in her couch since 2003… Warner Chappell client Tom Higgenseon, the frontman and primary songwriter of Plain White T’s, and Alfred Publishing are the co-recipients of the sixth annual Musicnotes Song of the Year Award for downloadable sheet music sales of “Hey There Delilah”… Look for the 11th edition of the comprehensive 2009 Film and Television Music Guide. While print copies will be available in a few weeks, the entire database is available now at www.recordxpress.net… Glassnote’s Daniel Glass has inked North Carolina rock band Jonas Sees In Color for publishing. The band enters the studio with Aaron Johnson (The Fray) producing… Timbaland collaborator producer/writer Danja, who collaborated on the Justin Timberlake album, is attracting plenty of pub interest… Josh Abraham, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven have launched Check Your Pulse Publishing, administered by Downtown Publishing, with writing clients including Ollie Goldstein (Flo Rida, The Plies, Elliott Yamin), Bonnie McKee (Yamin), Tim Pagnota (Sugarcult, Sugar Ray) and Luke Walker (Evan Taubenfeld, Filter, Sugar Ray) among the initial signings... Got any more publishing, licensing or perf rights info? E-mail [email protected].