Image credit: Dennis Leupold
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), a leading, global music publisher, today announced that Grammy Award-winning recording artist and songwriter Lionel Richie has signed an exclusive, global publishing agreement. The deal includes songs written throughout Richie’s solo career including super hits "Hello,” “Lady,” "Dancing on the Ceiling," "All Night Long,” and numerous others.
With more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, six Grammy Awards, an Oscar and a Golden Globe, Richie (Capitol Records) is an international icon whose discography is a defining part of pop music. He is one of the only songwriters in history to have #1 records for eleven consecutive years, as well as one of only two songwriters to solely write eight #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to Richie’s extensive catalog of mega-hits like “Penny Lover,” Truly,” “Say You, Say Me” and “Ballerina Girl," he co-wrote “We Are the World,” one of the most important and timeless pop songs in history.
Jody Gerson, Chairman and CEO of UMPG, said: “I am thrilled that Lionel Richie has chosen UMPG to take care of his song catalogue. I have known Lionel personally for years and have always wanted to be his publisher. I am so happy the day has finally come. We will be the best publisher Lionel has ever had. My teams around the world couldn’t be more excited to work with his illustrious catalogue of hits spanning many, many decades.”
Richie said: “Having partnered with Universal Music as recording artist for almost my entire career, joining the UMPG family as a songwriter feels like coming home. With their outstanding global team, I know my songs are in the best hands and I’m excited for what we can accomplish together.”
About Lionel Richie
International superstar Lionel Richie has a discography of albums and singles that are second to none. His music is part of the fabric of pop music. With more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, an Oscar®, a Golden Globe®, six Grammy Awards®*, the distinction of MusicCares Person of the Year in 2016, and Kennedy Center Honoree in 2017. In March 2018, Richie put his handprints and footprints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, one of the oldest awards in Hollywood. He recently received the Ivor Novello PRS for Music Special International Award. The Tuskegee, Alabama native is a true music icon.
Lionel Richie is known for his mega-hits such as “Endless Love,” “Lady,” “Truly,” “All Night Long,” “Penny Lover,” “Stuck on You,” “Hello,” “Say You, Say Me,” “Dancing on the Ceiling,” and co-wrote one of the most important pop songs in history, “We Are the World,” for USA for Africa. His song catalog also includes his early work with The Commodores, where he developed a groundbreaking style that defied genre categories, penning smashes such as “Three Times a Lady,” “Still,” and “Easy.” Richie has had 11 consecutive years where he wrote #1 songs*.
Richie sold out arenas worldwide with a set list of his brightest and best anthems on his All The Hits, All Night Long Tour. In recent years, he also headlined festivals including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Glastonbury, drawing the festival’s biggest crowd ever with more than 200,000 attendees.
Richie took fans on a spectacular musical journey with his latest album, Live from Las Vegas along with his most recent tour, the “Hello” tour, which kicked off in Summer 2019. The album, which was released on August 16, 2019 was #1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart. The album also marks the legendary artist’s first release on Capitol Records.
Richie was a judge on ABC’s American Idol for the past 3 seasons and has returned to the ‘Judge’s’ chair for this 2021 season. He launched his Las Vegas headlining residency show, Lionel Richie—All the Hits in April 2016. In an unforgettable evening featuring his brightest and best anthems which have defined the music icon’s unparalleled career, Richie took his fans on a spectacular musical journey, performing a variety of his seminal hits. Richie’s Back to Las Vegas residency will start back up with newly announced concerts for Fall 2021.
* Grammy Awards include: Album of the Year (1984) – Can’t Slow Down, Best Male Pop Performance (1982) – Truly, Producer of the Year (1984), Song of the Year (1986) – We Are The World, Record of the Year (1986) – We Are The World, Best Group Pop Performance (1986) – We Are The World
* #1 songs include: 1976 Just to Be Close to You (R&B #1), 1977 Easy (R&B #1), 1978 Three Times a Lady, 1979 Still, 1980 Lady, 1981 Endless Love, 1982 Truly, 1983 All Night Long (All Night), 1984 Hello, 1985 Say You, Say Me + We Are The World, 1986 Dancing on the Ceiling (Radio & Records #1)