Downtown Neighbouring Rights Sign Lady Blackbird

Photo Credit: Christine Schwan

Downtown Neighbouring Rights sign an international deal with Lady Blackbird who joins a roster including Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, One Republic, and the estates of Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, and Meat Loaf.Downtown Neighbouring Rights (DNR) has announced a global deal with American Psychedelic Soul singer-songwriter Lady Blackbird. As part of the deal, DNR will represent Lady Blackbird’s catalog, including the singles “Woman,” “Feel It Coming,” and her collaboration with Moby, “Dark Days.”

Lady Blackbird’s 2021 album, Black Acid Soul, produced by Chris Seefried, peaked at No. 6 on the UK Album chart and entered the Official Jazz chart at No. 1, with “Five Feet Tall” accumulating over 4 million streams on Spotify. Her haunting version of Nina Simone’s “Blackbird” has become a civil rights rallying cry in the aftermath of George Floyd.

Winning International Jazz Act of the Year at the 2022 Jazz FM Awards, Lady Blackbird is a sought-after collaborator, featuring on releases with Moby, Trevor Horn, Nitin Sawhney, and Billy Porter, as well as supporting Gregory Porter on his UK tour in 2022.

“I am so excited to be partnering with Downtown in regards to my neighboring rights collections,” said Lady Blackbird. “With my new album, Slang Spirituals, coming out in September, this is going to be such an exciting year. Adding Downtown to my team feels like a perfect fit.”Downtown Neighbouring Rights will also represent her upcoming second studio album, Slang Spirituals, which is once again produced by her longtime collaborator, Chris Seefried. The first single from the album, “Reborn,” debuted in June.

The news follows a successful start to the year for DNR, who has welcomed a raft of global signings since the beginning of 2024. The company announced international neighboring rights agreements with acclaimed singer-songwriter ANOHNI, representing the singer’s Academy Award-nominated song, “Manta Ray,” and Mercury Prize-winning album, I Am a Bird Now — as well as global agreements with publisher and label Position Music and TH3RD BRAIN Records, home to Brazilian producer Zerb. Zerb’s single “Mwaki” hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 Global and No. 2 on Global Shazam charts.

“It has been an exceptional year so far for Downtown Neighbouring Rights as we continue to represent and collect for groundbreaking global artists,” concludes Diane van Beekum-de Mooij, Director of Downtown Neighbouring Rights. “Lady Blackbird is one such example, a highly talented artist, singer, and songwriter; we are proud to represent her lauded catalog and look forward to providing her and her team with our expertise and offering.”

Downtown is the world’s leading music services company, with over 2 million clients from 145 countries representing a catalog of over 38 million music assets in a wide variety of genres and languages. Downtown’s technology and service offerings support creators and businesses in all facets of the music industry, including creation, distribution, publishing, marketing, royalty collection, financing, accounting, and payment services.