One Media iP Group PLC (LON:OMIP) has acquired certain composition and recording rights to the catalogue of country music star Don Williams.
The digital music rights acquirer, publisher and distributor has secured the rights to more than 200 songs from Williams’s golden period in the 1970s and 1980s, during which time he had seventeen number one hits, the best known of which is probably “Living on Tulsa Time”.
Williams, who died in 2017, scored at least one major hit every year between 1974 and 1991. In 1980, readers of London’s Country Music People magazine named him Artist of the Decade. The albums ‘The Best of Don Williams, Volume II’ and ‘The Best of Don Williams Vol. III’ have been certified gold, and ‘I Believe in You’ has been certified a platinum seller.
The acquisition was described by the company as a “material” one but has been funded through existing cash resources. It completes a successful round of acquisitions by the company this year in which it has bought into the work of the likes of Kid Creole and the Coconuts and record producers Steve Levine (Culture Club) and Barry Blue (Heatwave).
"There has been a steady rise in the popularity of country music in the UK and Europe, with events such as the Country 2 Country festival, which have drawn in huge crowds in recent years. Don Williams - like Johnny Cash - is revered by younger artists, which has in turn fed through to a new generation of fans. In life he was known as the Gentle Giant… and in his musical legacy we believe we have a Sleeping Giant, as fans of all generations are drawn to his timeless music,” said Michael Infante, the chief executive officer of One Media.
"One Media will work in partnership with the Don Williams estate to ensure his legacy is protected and promoted for many years to come, with our state-of-the-art TCAT software," he added.
