A live performance from Half Pint, who’s sold a portion of his IP to Iconoclast. Photo Credit: Peter Verwimp
Iconoclast is officially acquiring select IP from “culturally significant reggae artists,” beginning with the work of Half Pint.
The purchasing party just recently reached out with word of the deal, which came to fruition under a partnership with Ujama Designs. Founded by Robert Oyugi, the latter company operates in publishing, recording, live, and other areas across genres including but not limited to reggae.
Now, Ujama Designs, the Ujama News subsidiary of which produces Boulder’s Soul Rebel Festival, says it’s poised to leverage that experience by helping connect Iconoclast with the aforementioned “culturally significant” works.
First up is the IP – referring specifically to publishing and NIL rights – of the “legendary” Half Pint (real name Lindon Andrew Roberts). Among the Kingston-born singer’s works are “Greetings,” “Crazy Girl,” “Mr. Landlord,” “Substitute Lover,” and “Winsome,” to name a few.
While Iconoclast opted against disclosing the agreement’s price tag in its release and when contacted by DMN, founder Olivier Chastan drove home his broader plans to help reggae find new fans on the world stage.
“Working with Robert allows me to reconnect with my long history and passion for Reggae music that started 20 years ago when I worked at VP Records and acquired Greensleeves Publishing,” communicated Chastan, whose company this past March bought Tony Bennett’s catalog and NIL rights.
“Thanks to our partnership with Robert Oyugi and my personal experience,” proceeded the Iconic Artists Group founder, “we hope to further expand into the genre and help Reggae artists in and outside of Jamaica reach a wider audience. I could not ask for a better start than working with Half Pint!”
62-year-old Half Pint, who had been set to perform at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in June until the reggae event was shelved “due to extreme financial challenges,” didn’t provide a statement. But Oyugi touted the tie-up between Iconoclast and his own company as “a perfect match for success.”
Iconoclast’s Half Pint IP purchase marks the second catalog deal to this point in August (the other being Reach Music Publishing’s play for a portion of Wyatt Durrette’s work). Overall, however, against the backdrop of an uncertain economy, the end of the Hipgnosis saga, and other factors, IP transactions have been comparatively rare in recent months.
As monitored by DMN Pro’s Music IP Acquisition Tracker, only eight catalog sales have wrapped across May’s start and today. Last year, May alone came close to matching that number (including a deal involving Iconoclast and Major Lazer founder Dave Taylor), and the overall stretch brought north of 30 agreements.
Notwithstanding the material volume slowdown, interest and massive piles of cash seemingly remain available for especially high-profile IP, including the works of Michael Jackson, Queen, and Calvin Harris.
