Historic deal encompasses McCartney’s catalogue of master recordings and welcomes him home to label where he began his extraordinary career
Paul McCartney has signed a worldwide recording agreement with Capitol Records, it was announced today by Capitol Music Group (CMG) Chairman & CEO Steve Barnett.
“This is genuinely exciting for me,” McCartney said. “Not only was Capitol my first U.S. record label, but the first record I ever bought was Gene Vincent’s 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' on the Capitol label.”
This historic contract encompasses McCartney's entire body of post-Beatles work, from his 1970 McCartney album, through his decade with Wings, to the dozens of solo and collaborative works that have continually reaffirmed his standing as the most popular, influential and acclaimed artist in the history of recorded music. In a career that spans six decades, McCartney has sold more than 500 million records worldwide. He was recently named the United Kingdom’s most successful albums artist of all time by the Official Albums Chart Company and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for his services to music.
Paul McCartney is the recipient of countless accolades and awards. He is a 21-time Grammy winner, two-time inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, an Academy Award winner and honoree of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and France’s Légion d'Honneur.
McCartney is currently working on a new studio album, while a comprehensive plan for the artist's catalogue is being conceived by Capitol and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) – in conjunction with the artist and his management team – and will be implemented beginning July 2017. The catalogue moves to Capitol/UMe from Concord, Paul’s previous label partner on such Grammy-winning albums as Band On The Run (Best Historical Album, 2012), Kisses On The Bottom (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, 2013) and Wings Over America (Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, 2014).
As a solo artist and with his former band Wings, McCartney charted 39 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, including seven No. 1s. The bulk of those titles were initially released on Capitol Records. In 2007, he departed Capitol for the first time, after signing a deal with the Hear Music label -- a joint venture between Starbucks and Concord Music Group. McCartney released his next three studio albums through Hear/Concord: Memory Almost Full (2007, peaking at No. 3; 636,000 sold in the U.S. according to Nielsen Music), Kisses on the Bottom (2012, No. 5; 280,000 sold) and New (2013, No. 3; 219,000 sold). In total, McCartney -- and Wings -- have sold 10.7 million albums in the U.S. since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991.
On the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, McCartney -- again solo and with Wings -- has collected 46 entries, including 23 top 10s and nine No. 1s.
In 2015, he visited the Hot 100 chart for the first time since 2007, and in a big way: He scored three consecutive top 40 hits thanks to his collaborations with Kanye West. "Only One" (West featuring McCartney) hit No. 35, "FourFiveSeconds" (a collaboration with Rihanna, West and McCartney) peaked at No. 4 -- McCartney's highest charting single since 1983, and "All Day" (West featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom and McCartney) reached No. 15. ("FourFiveSeconds" also hit No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, his first leader there since "The Girl Is Mine," with Michael Jackson, led the list in 1983.)
According to Barnett, "Paul McCartney’s association with Capitol has long defined so much of our historic legacy, and all of us here are extremely proud and honored that he has chosen to come back home. Paul’s indelible contributions to our culture are second to none, and his constant evolution as an artist and performer continues to inspire and enrich the lives of countless millions of people. We are overjoyed that Paul will be creating new music for years to come, and that Capitol will be helping to present it to the world.”
Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said: “It would be simply impossible to overstate what an honor it is to welcome Paul back to Capitol. It's a homecoming of one of the greatest musical artists of all time to the label that first helped bring his incredible music to the world. Paul's astonishing career has shown no limits - in creativity, in commercial longevity, and in its impact on people and cultures in every corner of the globe. We are thrilled at both Capitol and UMG to be able to contribute to the next chapter in Paul's extraordinary career.”
Michele Anthony, UMG’s Executive Vice President of U.S. Recorded Music added, “Paul’s vital and legendary body of work as a solo artist remains essential, relevant and so highly in demand. We’re beyond thrilled at the opportunity to put the global resources of Universal Music behind Paul’s forthcoming work, as well as introducing his previous iconic albums to new generations of fans around the world."
