Premier Music Group, the leading music strategy and supervision agency led by Josh Deutsch and Randall Poster, announces the close of its second round of financing, led by leading media investment company MEP Capital. MEP will join Premier’s Board of Directors, alongside preeminent independent music publisher Primary Wave, which invested in Premier Music Group in 2019: https://www.billboard.com/pro/primary-wave-publishing-premier-music-group-agency/
Josh Deutsch, Premier Music Group CEO said, “”We are excited to partner with the MEP team to put Premier’s acquisition strategy into action. Premier’s mission is to deliver full-service solutions that harness the power of music. Our partnership with MEP will power future acquisitions in new business segments and technologies to accelerate this goal.”
Matt Cohen of MEP said, “Josh, Randall, and the Premier team have done an outstanding job growing Premier into a market leader in music supervision and licensing and have quickly become the go-to resource for rights holders as well as film, TV, and brand clients. We look forward to working closely with the Premier team to support the continued growth of the business.”
Premier Music Group’s Creative Director Randall Poster said, “Josh and I joined forces to build a 21st century music agency. This new partnership is an important step in Premier’s evolution, as we continue to bring on the best people in music supervision to work on the most interesting and ambitious projects.”
The financing will power Premier’s ongoing acquisitions, including its recent acquisition of Listen (We Are Listen LLC), a leading sonic identity and sound design firm. It follows previous acquisitions of music supervision firms Wool & Tusk (2019) and Search Party (2020), founded by acclaimed supervisor Randall Poster (directors Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Martin Scorsese, Noah Baumbach, Richard Linklater). Premier has also entered a partnership with Q Factory by Robert Etoll—the premiere catalog of music and sound design specifically crafted for film and television advertising—to administer the catalog.
“As a complete audio strategy becomes even more essential to our clients, Premier’s acquisition of Listen deepens our expertise in sound design and sonic branding,” Deutsch adds. “Our partnership with Q Factory further expands Premier’s market opportunities across the entire audio ecosystem.”
PMG was advised by Arnaud Levy at Qualia Legacy Advisors.
Founded in 2017 by music industry entrepreneur Josh Deutsch, Premier Music Group is the world’s leading music intelligence and supervision agency. An award-winning leader in premium music, Premier creates breakthrough music solutions for advertising, film, television, and podcasts.
Premier offers complete music services to all segments, including music strategy, licensing, original composition and music production. The company’s integrated strategy and supervision approach provides clients with expert music curation supported by deep consumer data and cultural insights. Serving clients across all media, Premier works with leading global brands, agencies, and creators. Recent film, TV and podcast work includes KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON directed by Martin Scorcese (Apple), Wes Anderson’s THE FRENCH DISPATCH and upcoming ASTEROID CITY, Olivia Wilde’s DON’T WORRY DARLING, SUPERPUMPED (Showtime), THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (Netflix), 80 FOR BRADY (Paramount), the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions (multiple audio projects), and the podcast and audiobook slate from Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries. Recent advertising clients include Tiffany & Co., Samsung, HOKA, Nissan, Adidas, Target, Yeti, Google, Instagram, ESPN, Mercedes, and the NBA.
In 2019, Premier acquired music supervision firm Wool & Tusk, bringing in a team of veteran music supervisors with extensive licensing experience in music and advertising. In 2020, Premier acquired Search Party, the celebrated music supervision company founded by Randall Poster in 2004, expanding its supervision team and original composition capabilities and its footprint in film, TV and audio.
Listen is an award-winning, full-service sound agency based in New York City that has been a leader in sonic branding for over a decade. The agency is a mix of composers, sound designers and strategists working together to create impactful audio for the world’s most iconic brands across a range of industries. Listen specializes in developing sonic brand strategy, sound design and music composition for sound logos, product sounds, branded podcasts, advertising, and digital and location-based experiences for global brands like Microsoft, Ford, Virgin, Spotify, and Disney. The agency has also collaborated with artists and brands to bring product and brand stories to life, including innovative music experiences with Björk, Brian Eno, St. Vincent, Julianna Barwick, and X Ambassadors. To learn more, visit wearelisten.com.
