Universal Music Publishing Group have revealed 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 history. 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 catalogue 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.
“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.” – Jody Gerson, Chairman and CEO of UMPG
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. He has the distinction of being 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.
His song catalogue 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.
“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.” – Lionel Richie
