Diplo and Andrew Bergman, the former CEO of Downtown Music, are launching Bison Music, an independent music publisher focused on signing and developing songwriters early in their careers.
Bergman will serve as the company’s CEO, working alongside COO Tom Lee, CCO Juba Lee and general manager Jenny Ilibassi. The company’s roster of songwriters includes Picard Bros., Leclair, Maesic, Nitti, Kaien Cruz, BomboCat, Akira Evans and Groupthink, a group whose credits span songs for artists including BTS, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and JENNIE.
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Bison is positioning itself in contrast to a current publishing landscape that’s has been dominated by catalog acquisition. Rather than buying existing intellectual property, the company says its focused on long-term artist development and “making fresh, original music written by real people to connect with a global audience.”
“For me, there’s still nothing more exciting in music than discovering a great song from someone you’ve never heard of,” Bergman says in a press release. “That’s always been at the core of what makes music publishing a great business. And it’s what excited me about partnering with Diplo, one of the leading creative forces in the modern music business, and tmwrk, his management team and longtime business partners. We’re designed to identify and sign writers early, nurture them through the harsh realities of the music business and allow them to reap the benefits of their creative endeavors. Writers and the music publishers that serve them are at their best when they are in a collaborative mode, and we intend to operate that way internally and externally.”
Diplo, who initially formed Bison before bringing Bergman on as a partner, framed the launch as a response to a moment of creative stagnation in the industry. “At a moment when it feels like music needs an injection of originality, our writers are in a position to shape where music goes next,” he says. “Andrew and I are creating a home for those writers, with a team that knows how to develop them and a company built to back them for the long term.”
Bison is based in New York and Los Angeles. Additional signings will be announced in the coming months.
