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Seeker Music, the songwriter-led music rights, publishing, and record company, has acquired rights from, and formed a creative partnership, in a multi-million dollar deal with Mark Morrison, the multi-platinum British singer and songwriter best known for his timeless number one smash hit single “Return of the Mack.”
Seeker only acquires rights to catalogs they think have the potential to be worked in fresh, new ways; they see investing in songs (and songwriters) the same way labels approach breaking new artists, therefore, teaming up with Morrison was a no brainer. A master of reinvention and creative revitalization, Morrison has been “working” his own catalog for years by partnering with well-known brands for ad campaigns, and directly collaborating with modern artists to re-record vocals of his own songs on remixes and features, taking a more active role than most.
Now, Seeker and Morrison will be working together to pour ‘gas on the fire’ that Morrison’s been stoking for decades and bringing together a full team to continue to shine the spotlight on his legendary catalog through various creative campaigns.
Seeker Music CEO and hit songwriter Evan Bogart (Beyonce’s “Halo,” Rihanna’s “SOS”) said “Mark is exactly the kind of innovative artist that Seeker loves to create with. He’s a legend who continues to inspire countless music creators, genres and culture, successfully collaborating with other artists, visual media and brands for the past 30 years. His trailblazing, proactive, creative approach is what we’re all about as a company, so I couldn’t be more excited to have this opportunity to build with him. Also, ‘Return Of The Mack’ is an evergreen smash and was extremely influential in the development of my own creative career, I’m a huge fan!”
Since its release in 1996, Morrison’s signature song “Return of the Mack” has become one of the most enduring in pop music history. The lead single off Morrison’s 3x platinum-selling debut album of the same name, it’s been sampled in more than 25 other songs, and has been flipped into new hits such as “The Mack” by Mann ft. Iyaz and Snoop Dogg, “The Mack,” by Nevada ft. Fetty Wap and re-recorded vocals by Morrison himself, “Provide” by G. Eazy ft. Chris Brown and Morrison, and the viral TikTok hit “Cooped Up / Return of the Mack” by Post Malone and Morrison. It’s been featured everywhere from Euphoria to Entourage, performed on The Masked Singer, anthemed a political campaign (Andrew Yang), and is likely the only song, in history, to accomplish the feat of being featured in both McDonald’s and Burger King commercials. In 2022, it was re-imagined for a TV commercial by PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay, which Morrison also starred in, and in 2023, it was named to Billboard’s “500 Best Pop Songs of All Time” list.
And beyond “Return of the Mack”-centered work, Seeker and Morrison will also innovate around his many other Top 10 hits, including “Crazy,” “Trippin,” “Horny,” and “Moan & Groan.” In 1996, he became the first artist in British pop history to have five Top 10 hits from a debut album.
“Collaborating with Mark and Clive on our latest acquisition and our creative partnership is a dream come true for our collective team. Personally, it's incredibly thrilling, especially considering that "Return of the Mack" was the soundtrack of my earlier years… The Mack is back!” said Steven Melrose, Global Head of Creative for Seeker Music.
Mark Morrison said "Looking forward to working with the Seeker family in this next chapter of my musical journey. With Evan, Steven, and Seeker as partners, I'm excited to have creative collaborators who share the same vision for how to celebrate and build my songs into the future."
Clive Black said "Mark’s music is as relevant today as it was nearly 30 years ago – I am thrilled to have helped in getting this deal done and to have remained a friend for 3 decades. There are exciting times ahead for Mark and Seeker."
The deal was helmed by David Simone and Winston Simone. Morrison is represented by Adam Van Straten and long-time friend and business advisor, Clive Black. Seeker is represented by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, led by their in-house team Dan Stuart, Jennifer Scher, Steven Melrose and Scott Rubin.
Watch out for more to come from Seeker and Mark Morrison’s partnership in the coming year, including work with Seeker’s newly-announced SAMPLÉMOOSE initiative.
Soft-launched in the summer 2023, SAMPLÉMOOSE is a collection of loops, beats, & flip-starts that Seeker’s A&R and creative team curates and services to a select community of producers, artists, and songwriters, inspiring and incentivizing them to flip cuts from Seeker’s catalog into brand-new hits.
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