Billboard Names Seeker CEO Evan Bogart to 2022 R&B Hip-Hop Power Players List

How a brand-new company has made its mark in the R&B/Hip-Hop genre (and publishing space in general) so quickly is thanks in part to Seeker's unique, creator-led perspective and vision. As a chart-topping songwriter himself ("SOS" for Rihanna, "Halo" for Beyoncé), Bogart and his team only go after catalogs they're passionate about, and for which they see intrinsic creative opportunity. "We treat every catalog like it's a brand new artist/writer/producer that we just signed," Bogart says. "Because you know what? It's new and exciting for us."

Read more about how Seeker does things differently in Billboard’s “Indie Now” issue: Can Evan Bogart’s Seeker Music Become the Next Great Independent Music Company?

Of his love and work in the R&B and hip-hop genres, specifically, Bogart said: "It's been really exciting to build something primarily guided by our passion for the music we grew up listening to as fans. Personally, I'm a die hard hip-hop and R&B-head who grew up on a diet of Tribe, Biggie, Pac, Wu-Tang, Teddy Riley, Bell Biv Devoe, Jodeci and so many others. It's my love for 80s, 90s and early 2000's Hip-Hop and R&B that informed my early days as a songwriter and has led Seeker to put an emphasis on acquisitions in those genres."

Other Seeker acquisitions in the space so far include Brian Alexander Morgan's catalog (SWV's debut album and biggest hits), Troy Oliver's catalog (Ginuwine's hits, such as "Differences," which was flipped into the posthumous Pop Smoke smash "What You Know Bout Love"), and several catalogs from hip-hop-leaning UK publisher Notting Hill, which includes hits from Nelly, Nas, J Kwon, Meek Mill, Monica, Busta Rhymes, to name a few.

Watch this space for more to come from Seeker Music.

CEO Evan Bogart (Credit: Caity Krone)