Firebird Music Holdings has today (March 24) announced a new strategic partnership with U.K. artist management company Goodlife Management.
The partnership brings the Goodlife team — including founders Oliver Sasse, Lucy Sasse, Ellie Shaw and David Watters — along with the company’s artist roster into Firebird’s suite of management companies. Goodlife currently represents an esteemed slate of dance and electronic artists including British phenomenon Fred again.., American scene leader The Blessed Madonna, Dutch trance star Ki/Ki and Japanese DJ/producer Yousuke Yukimatsu.
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Under the terms of the partnership, Oliver Sasse will now serve as a senior advisor for Firebird, with a focus on growing the company’s dance music acquisitions and exploring opportunities within catalog, labels, managers, live events and more.
With the deal, Goodlife joins Firebird’s group of U.S. and U.K. management partners, including Mick Management, Red Light Management, JET Management, Hills Artists and Special Projects.
“For us and our artists, it builds on the global network and creative momentum, while unlocking more commercial opportunities,” Oliver Sasse tells Billboard of the partnership. “Just as importantly, we’re able to lean into the experience and business acumen of Nat, Nathan and their team, while plugging into a network of managers we respect enormously, many of whom are friends and now partners, further strengthening what we can offer our roster.”
The partnership will give Goodlife access to Firebird’s strategic infrastructure and ecosystem of industry-spanning experts, with an eye towards expanding Goodlife’s roster.
Launched in the wake of the pandemic, Firebird has access to more than $1 billion in equity and is backed by institutional investors including the Raine Group and KKR Partners. Over the last several years, the company has invested in leading management companies and indie labels specializing in developing artists, with a vision to, as Firebird executive chairman Nat Zilkha told Billboard in 2023, “participate across a much broader range of all the activities artists participate in by having a horizontal relationship with them so that we can be more forward leaning in terms of how we invest in artists’ careers.”
In a statement on the Goodlife deal, Zilkha adds that “We are thrilled to partner with Oliver on developing creative and business opportunities for his artists, as well as collaborating with him on impactfully expanding our own footprint across the genre.”
“Oliver Sasse and the Goodlife team have been at the forefront of the global popularity for electronic music for the last decade, fostering unique artists and delivering innovative approaches to building longer lasting, more impactful global careers,” Firebird CEO Nathan Hubbard added in a statement.
