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Seeker Music, the creator-led music rights, publishing, and record company led by award-winning songwriter and creative executive Evan Bogart and backed by M&G Investments, has acquired the music publishing catalog of acclaimed songwriter, producer, bassist, and keyboardist Simon Raymonde. The deal includes his full body of work as a member of the legendary Scottish rock band Cocteau Twins. One of the most influential architects of dream-pop and alternative music, Raymonde’s catalog has helped shape generations of artists and continues to resonate across culture today.
Raymonde joined Cocteau Twins in 1983, and quickly established himself as a core songwriter in the band throughout its tenure. Across iconic albums such as Treasure, Blue Bell Knoll, and Heaven or Las Vegas, Raymonde’s work helped define the group’s signature sound, a fusion of lush instrumentation and atmospheric pop that has become foundational in modern alternative and mainstream music. Cocteau Twins’ influence can be heard across decades of indie, electronic, and pop music, with their songs continuing to find new audiences through streaming, film/tv, and modern reinterpretations, including The Weeknd’s “The Knowing,” which samples the band’s beloved “Cherry-Coloured Funk.”
Beyond his work with Cocteau Twins, Raymonde is also a solo artist and music industry executive who co-founded and leads the famed UK indie label Bella Union (Beach House, Father John Misty, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Xiu Xiu, etc). He has served as vice-chairman of AIM, received the Ivor Academy’s Visionary Award alongside his Cocteau Twins bandmates, and has produced and mixed albums of other artists like Clearlake, The Czars, Billy Mackenzie, and Fionn Regan.
The deal with Raymonde gets at two major tenets of Seeker Music’s strategy: their focus on timeless music with potential to reach new fans in new ways, and their continued expansion into the UK and international markets.
Led by CEO and hit songwriter Bogart (Beyoncé’s “Halo,” Rihanna’s “SOS”), Seeker was built with a creator-first philosophy at its core, approaching classic catalogs with the same intentionality and creative ambition typically reserved for new music. By selectively partnering with works the team believes in deeply, Seeker has developed a reputation for revitalizing enduring catalogs and extending their legacy and reach by introducing them to new generations of fans through strategic, long-term stewardship. This approach has already delivered measurable impact across catalogs ranging from Christopher Cross’ to Joan Jett’s, and Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Gos to Run the Jewels, and plans are already in the works for multiple different global activations over the next 24 months with Raymonde’s music.
Additionally, with a portfolio now encompassing more than $400 million in value and over 19,000 copyrights, Seeker has focused on catalogs with lasting international resonance in recent years, with strategic acquisitions spanning artists and songwriters from the UK and beyond, such as platinum-selling indie band The Wombats, R&B icon Mark Morrison (“Return of the Mack”), production duo Future Cut (Lily Allen), and hitmakers Plested (Lewis Capaldi) and RuthAnne Cunningham (“Slow Hands,” “In the Name of Love”).
Seeker Music Chief Creative Officer Steven Melrose shared of the acquisition: “Growing up as a little boy just across the water in Edinburgh, Scotland, these songs have always provided the soundtrack to my life. Between the wonderful melodies and Liz Fraser’s incredible vocals, there’s nothing else like the music Simon has made and contributed to. When the chance to work with him presented itself, well, there’s never been a quicker yes … it’s an honor.”
“Between the generational impact Simon already holds, and the global creative marketing we do at Seeker, we believe this new partnership makes the perfect pairing to further reverberate Simon’s musical influence the world over,” Melrose added.
Simon Raymonde said, “The enthusiasm for our music appears to be strong 30 years after our last studio album. Maybe stronger than ever, I’m not sure! Seeker Music have shown that passion and excitement since we began talking last year. Hopefully the relationship with them grows alongside the work we are doing with 4AD to keep our fans happy! I’m sure all the fans want is for us to play shows and make new music. While that still seems a long way off, there’s a lot to be done with the music we have left behind.”
Simon Raymonde was represented in the transaction by Christy McNaughtan at NMD Solicitors, and Seeker Music was represented by Henry Root for Counsel LLP and Seeker’s General Counsel Dan Stuart, along with Melrose and Bogart.
Watch this space for more to come from Seeker Music.
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