Los Angeles, CA, 24th March 2023
AMR Songs (AMR), a global independent music publishing, rights management, and catalog marketing company, has launched with backing from private capital for catalog acquisitions and frontline operations, including artist and songwriter development, label distribution, film and TV licensing, digital marketing, and more.
Founded by music industry veteran, Tamara Conniff, AMR CEO, and private equity professional Steve Reinstadlter, AMR CFO, the full-service, Los Angeles and New York-based company has been strategically building its diversified portfolio, acquiring rights in a vast array of music catalogs across multiple genres – most recently the catalogs of folk-rock legend John Sebastian and his interest in The Lovin’ Spoonful, and Grammy-winning reggae group SOJA.
AMR has acquired interest in Sebastian’s entire catalog, including his publishing and artist royalties from perennial hits by The Lovin’ Spoonful, including: “Daydream,” “Summer in the City,” “Do You Believe in Magic,” “Younger Girl,” “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” and “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?,” among others. The catalog also features his 1975 self-penned hit, “Welcome Back,” the theme to the iconic sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter.” The company has also acquired interests in the majority of SOJA’s catalog, spanning from the band’s inception through 2020, including music publishing and various master recordings and artist royalties therein. The Grammy Award-winning international reggae band’s 2009 album, “Born in Babylon,” notably reached No.11 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart, and their albums “Strength to Survive” (2012) and the Grammy-nominated “Amid the Noise and Haste” (2014) topped the Billboard Reggae Album Chart.
AMR has also acquired interests in the publishing, producer and artist royalties of hundreds of celebrated songs across multiple genres, including hits recorded by artists such as Brantley Gilbert, Boston, Carly Simon, Celine Dion, Charlie Daniels, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, James Arthur, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Juanes, Kane Brown, Leona Lewis, Lil Wayne, Linda Ronstadt, Little River Band, Luke Combs, Pitbull, Pure Prairie League, Samantha Mumba, Westlife, and Yandel, and more.
As a frontline company, AMR has signed global music publishing deals with award-winning producer, writer and multi-instrumentalist Erik Janson and Australian artist and soul man EJ Worland, who will also be releasing new music under AMR’s label.
“I’m ecstatic to announce the launch of AMR Songs and fully realize our vision of building a truly creative home for our artists and writers — not just acquiring rights, but proactively nurturing and marketing catalogs, signing and developing artists with frontline operations. We’ve established a stellar film and TV sync licensing team, label distribution and digital marketing support to uniquely foster new opportunities and revenue growth for our roster and catalogs,” said Conniff. “I’m also thrilled to announce AMR has acquired the catalogs of John Sebastian and his interest in The Lovin’ Spoonful, as well as the SOJA catalog. We’re passionate about the music and incredibly proud to represent and take care of these amazing works, ensuring they are exposed to new audiences for generations to come.”
Prior to launching AMR, Conniff held senior executive roles as EVP of Roc Nation Music Publishing, COO of Artist Publishing Group, and President of Front Line Management/Ticketmaster, and was Billboard’s Editor-in-Chief from 2004 to 2008. Reinstadtler has extensive experience as a private equity investor focused on the media, entertainment and communications sectors, having served as a Partner at SR Capital Advisors and Co-Head of TD Capital in NYC, which deployed over $1B in private equity and mezzanine investments. For more information on AMR Songs, visit amrsongs.com.
