Downtown Acquires Top UK Indie Publishers Salli Isaak Music and Salli Isaak Songs

London, UK, November 2, 2018 — Today, Downtown Music Publishing announced the acquisition of Salli Isaak Songs Limited and Salli Isaak Music Publishing Limited, home to hit songwriters Jimmy Napes and Paloma Faith, among others. Collectively, the Salli Isaak roster has written twenty UK top 10 singles, nine UK No. 1 singles, and won multiple Ivor Novello Awards. 

The Salli Isaak companies were started by Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington in 2006 and quickly became a home to some of the most celebrated songwriting talents in the UK Through its acquisition of the two companies, Downtown adds nearly 700 song copyrights to its catalogue, including Napes’ contributions to the Sam Smith songbook (such as “Stay With Me,” “I’m Not the Only One,” “Too Good at Goodbyes,” and “Pray”), as well as songs recorded by Alicia Keys, Clean Bandit, Dillon Francis, Disclosure, Ella Henderson, Ellie Goulding, Isaac Gracie, James Bay, Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Ray BLK, and more. Additionally, the company has picked up existing futures agreements with Napes, Faith, Shane Filan (formerly of Westlife), and Robert Stapleton.

Commenting on the deal, Raphael said, “We are very pleased that our writers and their incredible songs will now sit alongside the wonderful and prestigious catalogue that Downtown continues to build.”

“We are so grateful to Nick and Jo who signed these incredible songwriters, who have created worldwide evergreens that we will be listening to and singing for many decades to come,” said Roberto Neri, Managing Director of Downtown’s UK operation. “This is an incredible acquisition for our company and we are absolutely thrilled to be working with Jimmy, Paloma, and the other exciting songwriters on the roster.”

"I would like to thank Nick and Jo for their trust in Downtown," said Justin Kalifowitz, Downtown CEO. "As we continue to invest in the future of songs and songwriting our mission is to be a truly global partner to the world's most inspiring creators. With that in mind, I couldn't be more honored or excited to welcome these extraordinary writers and their remarkable music to the company."

Napes, named “pop’s number one songwriter” by Billboard, is Sam Smith’s key collaborator and has played a major role in his career; in 2015, Napes shared two Grammy awards for Record of the Year with “Stay With Me” and Best Pop Vocal Album for Smith’s debut In The Lonely Hour. In 2016, he took home awards from the Oscars and the Golden Globes in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing Smith’s “Writing’s On The Wall,” the only James Bond theme to ever achieve a UK No. 1 single position. He continues to contribute with eleven out of fourteen songs on Smith’s latest album, Thrill Of It All, which debuted at No. 1 in numerous countries, including the US and UK Napes also won two Ivor Novello awards in 2015 for Most Performed Work and Best Contemporary Song for his contribution to Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne.” 

Faith made her mainstream debut in 2009 with the double platinum album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? She has since released three consecutive hit albums: Fall to Grace (2012), which debuted at No. 2; A Perfect Contradiction (2014), which also debuted at No. 2 and achieved double-platinum status; and The Architect (2017), which debuted at No. 1 and boasted collaborations with Nellee Hooper, Pharrell Williams, Raphael Saadiq, Diane Warren, Samuel L. Jackson, and others. Faith has received numerous nominations and awards for her impact on British culture and music from the BRIT Awards, ASCAP Awards, World Music Awards, Pro Sounds Awards, O2 Silver Clef Awards, Glamour Awards, and the Webby Awards.

The catalog also includes notable works written by Olly Murs, Karen Harding, Arlissa, and Eliza and the Bear. Murs, a 2009 X-Factor (UK) runner-up, has released five solo platinum/multi-platinum albums on Sony/Syco, which led him to nominations for six Brit Awards and two Ivor Novello Awards in the category of Most Performed Work for his hit singles “Dance With Me Tonight” and “Troublemaker.” Harding is a singer-songwriter whose single “Say Something” (2015) achieved platinum status and charted in the top 10 in the UK Arlissa rose to prominence on her 2012 single with Nas, “Hard to Love Somebody,” and her song “We Won’t Move” was recently featured prominently in the 2018 motion picture The Hate U Give.

The acquisition of the Salli Isaak companies represents Downtown’s continued investment in the UK’s diverse music market. Since the opening of its London office in 2015, Downtown’s catalog has grown to include the likes of Naughty Boy, Imogen Heap, Sacha Skarbek, Saltwives, Goldie, Kano, Izzy Bizu, Charlie Sloth, Zeph Ellis, and ZDOT.

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About Downtown Music Publishing

Established in 2007, Downtown Music Publishing is one of the world's leading rights-management firms with offices in major music markets around the globe, including New York, Nashville, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Paris, and Sydney. The company's catalog spans over a hundred years of popular music, encompassing some of the world's most beloved songwriters and artists including The Beatles, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Ryan Tedder, Benny Blanco, Hans Zimmer, The Kinks, One Direction, Mötley Crüe, Robin Thicke, Naughty Boy, Hardwell, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Santigold, Carla Bruni, and Social Distortion. Downtown Music Publishing is wholly owned by Downtown & Company, which also owns New York-based Downtown Music Studios and SongtrustⓇ, the world’s largest technology platform for songwriting and music publishing royalties, which powers global royalty collection from over 120 territories and more than 20,000 unique income sources worldwide.