ole Acquires Catalogue of Songs by Prolific Pop Hit-Maker Rami Yacoub

ole has acquired a catalogue of songs written by Swedish hit producer/songwriter, Rami Yacoub, the creator of several of pop music’s biggest hits by artists like Britney Spears, ‘N Sync, Backstreet Boys and Pink, which have generated sales of more than 150 million records worldwide. ole acquires Rami’s writer’s share of the compositions immediately and his reversionary publishing rights at 2021.

Country Success An Ongoing Story For ole Into 2011

ole sweeps into 2011 prepared to build on a strong Country success story.

ole's Nashville-based roster of writers currently has a combined 21 songs on release as singles and album cuts in the U.S. including charted singles by Rascal Flatts “Why Wait” (Jimmy Yeary), lead single from the group’s album Nothing Like This; Billy Currington “Let Me Down Easy” (Marty Dodson); Frankie Ballard “Tell Me You Get Lonely” (Marty Dodson), his debut single; James Otto “Soldiers and Jesus” (Chris Wallin); and Randy Houser “A Man Like Me” (Danny Green).

ole Builds On a Memorable Year of Milestone Moments

As ole emerged from a year during which the company experienced a number of milestone moments in the areas of TV administration, acquisitions, production music and sponsorships as well as exponential Creative success with more cuts, syncs and awards than in any prior year, not a beat was missed as 2011 rolled in.

ole started the year with 87 total multiple genre cuts – 17 of them singles – in play or on deck in the U.S., Canada and internationally. Over the next couple of months, ole has cuts on upcoming recording projects from Charley Pride, Eli Young Band, Emerson Drive, Jay Sean, Mother Mother and Nick Carter.

BILL C-32

An opinion piece written late last year by ole President Michael McCarty titled “The Day the Music Died,” which warned of the pitfalls and omissions in Bill C-32, the legislation to amend Canada’s outdated Copyright Act, received widespread coverage in the media where it was quoted at length. It ran as an op-ed piece in Canada’s influential Politics and Government Newsweekly, The Hill Times. On-going commentary from McCarty on Bill C-32 and copyright in Canada can be found on Twitter at olecopyright.

ole Signs Admin Deal For W!LDBRAIN Entertainment’s Hit Children’s Series Yo Gabba Gabba!

ole has concluded a North American deal with the award-winning W!LDBRAIN Entertainment for the Administration of the top-rated and critically-acclaimed hit children’s series, Yo Gabba Gabba! The deal adds to ole’s large presence in Children’s music publishing where the company co-owns considerable catalog and enjoys relationships with companies like Cookie Jar, Nelvana, WGBH and Random House.

ole Writer Tebey’s Slogan is ‘Have Songs, Will Travel’

If you look at the great success that ole writer Tebey is having these days, a couple of things become obvious: he’s writing in a number of genres and his songs are finding a home with artists from around the world including Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, budding British pop star Pixie Lott, chart-topping Canadian country group Emerson Drive and top-selling Australian group, The Veronicas. This is more by design than happenstance.

Home Swede Home

ole/Strengholt songwriter Carl Utbult, whose home is in Stockholm, Sweden, recently moved his family to a condo in Nashville for a couple of months as he hunkered down for some quality writing time coordinated by ole’s Nashville office.

ole writer Alan Frew: From Music Row to Ski Tow in Utah

Alan Frew, who signed an administration and co-publishing deal with ole last fall, doesn’t spend a lot of time in one place. Often that’s of his own choice as part of the routine of an artist, a music entrepreneur and in-demand speaker. For a few weeks in January though, Frew was in ole’s hands for a series of writing sessions around North America.

ole/Last Gang Artists Mother Mother Release Third Studio Album, Eureka, on March 15th

Judging by the title of ole/Last Gang artists Mother Mother’s upcoming album, the journey to this, the band’s third studio opus has been a voyage of discovery. It’s titled Eureka, a word from the ancient Greek famously attributed to Greek scholar Archimedes who is said to have shouted the word upon stepping into a bath, noticing the water level rise and realizing that the volume of water displaced was equal to the volume of the part of his body that he had submerged. The word literally translated means, “I have found it!”

ole/Roots Three Writers Doc Walker Find Success Down Under

The current devastation in Australia caused by flooding has a particularly poignant interest for ole/Roots Three writers Chris Thorsteinson, Dave Wasyliw and Murray Pulver of Doc Walker, who over the last few years have become honorary Aussies given the time they have spent there and the musical success they have enjoyed. The Winnipeg group in fact has just completed an Australian tour, which kicked off with an appearance at the Tamworth Country Music Festival followed by dates in Brisbane and Sydney, and has been nominated as International Artist of the Year by Australia’s Country Music Channel (CMC) where their current video for the single “Coming Home,” is on the rise on the CMC Top 30 Show chart.

ole Signs Worldwide, Publishing Admin Deal With Take 5 Productions

ole has concluded a worldwide, publishing administration deal with Toronto-based Take 5 Productions, which was founded in 2009 to finance and produce high-quality international television. The company has quickly established itself as an industry leader and remarkably, in its first year of operation, co-produced the nine-episode series The Borgias, the ten-episode series Camelot and co-produced and delivered the final season of award-winning series, The Tudors.

Sinking Ship’s Dino Dan Wins Prestigious 2010 Shaw Rocket Prize

Sinking Ship Entertainment, which signed with ole in the spring of 2010 for the worldwide administration of its music publishing and audio-visual secondary rights, had reason to celebrate recently as their TV series Dino Dan was honored with the 2010 Shaw Rocket Prize for best children’s, youth or family TV program as voted by kids across Canada. Dino Dan, which recently set the mark as the most watched debut episode on Nick Jr. in that network’s history, is about a ten-year-old dinosaur expert whose imagination conjures up all manner of computer-generated dinosaurs. The series blends live action with photo-real CGI dinosaurs.

ole TV Admin Client Nelvana Debuts New Babar Animated Series

Babar and the Adventures of Badou, a 3D-animated TV series, co-produced by ole worldwide admin client Nelvana Enterprises, a Corus Entertainment Company, had its English version of 26 episodes premiere in Australia in September of last year on ABC2 and in Canada on YTV in November – SRC for French Canada. In the U.S., the series had its debut on Playhouse Disney and will remain part of the Disney family as Valentine’s Day (February 14) sees the transformation of Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior, a new block of television created for children ages 2-7. In the rest of the world, the series is airing on TF1 and Playhouse Disney in France, Playhouse Disney in Japan, Disney Channel in Italy and Spain, KIKA in Germany, TV2 in Norway, YLE 2 in Finland, DR TV in Denmark, Thai PBS and M-Net in South Africa, amongst others.

ole Signs Grammy Award-Winning Songwriter/Recording Artist/Humanitarian Ziggy Marley to Sub-Publishing Deal

ole has concluded a Canadian Sub Publishing deal with five-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter/recording artist/humanitarian, Ziggy Marley, the eldest son of Rita Marley and Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley, the legendary roots reggae artist.

Impressive Number of ole/BMG-RM Syncs in Canada

ole has had extraordinary success of late with syncs for songs represented by the company as part of the exclusive, multi-year reciprocal deal with BMG Rights Management (BMG-RM) under which the companies generate creative opportunities for each other’s copyrights in their respective territories.

ole/Bucks Celebrates The Gift from Susan Boyle

Bucks Music Group/ole has five classic Christmas songs on Susan Boyle’s best-selling album, The Gift including “Auld Lang Syne,” “Away In A Manger,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” “O Holy Night” and “The First Noel.” Arrangements on the traditional songs were by David Arch and Steve Mac.

ole/tanjola Writer Dru and Chad Richardson: A ‘Flash’ in Japan

Sometimes a song can take on a life of its own. Just ask ole/tanjola writer Dru,Craig McConnell and Chad Richardson who, about a year and a half ago, co-wrote a song originally titled “Be Careful What You Wish For" that was picked up by popular Japanese artist, Crystal Kay.

ole Toronto Christmas Bash Celebrates Successful Year, Looks To Prosperous 2011

ole’s Toronto office held their annual Christmas Party on December 10 at the Roosevelt Room Supper Club, a venue “inspired by the classic glamour of Old Hollywood and the Roaring ‘20s” that regularly plays host to star-studded fashion and Toronto International Film Festival events

ole LA CHRISTMAS BASH- ole L.A. Christmas Bash A Star-Studded ‘80s Music Affair

The ole Christmas party in Los Angeles, which had over 300 revellers, took a nostalgic step back into the ‘80s with the musical guests having all made their mark back in the “Me” Decade.

ole-Affiliated TV/Film Production Houses Shine at 25th Annual Gemini Awards

A number of TV/film companies, for which ole handles administration, were honored at the 25^th annual Gemini Awards Industry Galas held late last year in Toronto at the Kool Haus Entertainment Complex and at the historic Winter Garden Theatre from which the Broadcast Gala was televised on Global and Showcase.

ole-sponsored Hunnypot Internet Radio Important Networking Platform for Music Supervisors

ole-sponsored Hunnypot Internet Radio and creative executive live events have become important platforms for music supervisors to network and gain exposure to new artists. The radio show was originally created as the marketing centrepiece for Hunnypot Unlimited, a multi-faceted music publishing, marketing and sync placement organization founded by John Anderson, who joined ole in August of last year as the Los Angeles-based Senior Director, Film, TV & Media, and his partner, music supervisor P.J. Bloom. The company bolstered Anderson’s reputation as one of the premiere industry tastemaker sources, developing innovative methods to promote music to advertisers, new media and film and TV companies.

Ole/Strengholt Writer Femke Weidema Performs and Networks at AIMP L.A. Showcase

ole/Strengholt singer/songwriter Femke Weidema was one of the featured performers at a recent artist showcase at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles co-sponsored by ole and presented by the Association of Independent Music Publishers Association (AIMP) in association with Planet LA Records. Among the VIPs at the Showcase, which had more than 200 industry people in attendance, were Music Box executives Jonathan Firstenberg, Sr. V.P, and Andrew Robbins, Director, Film/TV Music; and prolific singer/songwriter Jack Tempchin, who is known for, among many other titles, the Eagles’ classics “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Already Gone,” a co-write. On hand from ole were John Anderson, Senior Director, Film, Television & Media, and Allie Burbacher, Creative Assistant/L.A. Office Coordinator.

ole Participates in Songs of Hope IV to Benefit City of Hope

In November of last year, ole was pleased to take part in Songs of Hope IV, an evening of live acoustic music and a silent auction benefiting City of Hope, a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer and other life-threatening diseases in Duarte, California, just northeast of Los Angeles. The event, held at the exclusive Esquire House, a creation of Esquire magazine and often referred to as the “Ultimate Bachelor Pad,” featured the live performance participation of The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, Randy Newman, Carole Bayer Sager and K’naan, who also received awards honoring their exceptional careers as songwriters and composers. John Anderson, ole’s Los Angeles-based Senior Director, Film, Television & Media, is on the Music Industry Executive Fundraising Committee for City of Hope.

Hitsville Winners Aaron Goodvin and Jimmy Whiffen Sign Single Song Deals With ole

ole has signed single song deals with songwriters Aaron Goodvin and Jimmy Whiffen for “A Little Bit of Alright” and “Leaving You For the Last Time” respectively, songs which were pronounced most likely to succeed at ole’s third annual Hitsville promotion at last year’s Canadian Country Music Week in Edmonton.

Andrew McLaughlin Brings Unique Set of Accounting and Forensic Finance Skills to ole Administration

Andrew McLaughlin, VP, Copyright and Royalty Administration at ole, brings a unique set of accounting skills to his current position on a career path that has seen him rise through the ranks of big-name companies like Ernst & Young, Shoppers Drug Mart, Coca-Cola and Sears. At ole, McLaughlin’s main area of oversight is Administration, where he manages the ole team in that department, is responsible for the completeness of royalty collections and also spearheads and oversees the implementation of Admin’s strategic goals and all client service mandates.

ole CCO Gilles Godard and Friends Earn BMI Million-Air Award for ‘I Wanna Do It All’

ole Chief Creative Officer Gilles Godard, a prolific songwriter in his own right, recently picked up a BMI Million-Air Award for a million radio plays for the Terri Clark-recorded song “I Wanna Do It All,” which he co-wrote with close friends Rick Giles, a fellow ole writer, and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Tim Nichols. The song currently has more than 1.8 million radio airings. Pictured with their awards are (l-r) Rick Giles, Gilles Godard, Tim Nichols and Jody Williams, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations at BMI in Nashville.

Each month we feature the top ten songs in the ole catalogue as selected by one of the staff in our creative group. Here are the Top 10 picks from Allie Burbacher.