Former ‘X-Factor’ winner Matt Cardle has “parted ways” with Sony Music, where he was signed to a joint deal with the company’s Syco and Columbia labels. Obviously, we’re taking that to mean he was dropped due to disappointing sales of his debut album ‘Letters’.

Although ‘X-Factor’ winners are traditionally signed solely to Syco for the subsequent release of their failed debut album, Cardle was handed over to sister label Columbia because Simon Cowell and his team didn’t have the necessary expertise to launch a serious rocker like Matt.

Unfortunately for Cardle, as much as he went around telling people he was going to do something that would stand the test of time better than your average ‘X-Factor’ winner, it turned out that ‘X’ fans actually wanted something more like the shiny pop of runners-up One Direction (exactly like them, in fact), while rock fans wanted nothing to do with him or anyone linked to the ‘X-Factor’ machine.

A source told The People that “everyone wishes [Matt] well”, while Cardle himself said via Twitter: “I have parted ways with Columbia Records. We were heading in different directions. Big news coming soon… So excited!”

Expect to see Matt appearing in the line-up round on ‘Nevermind The Buzzcocks’ shortly.

Independent publisher Imagem has signed a worldwide co-publishing agreement with Grammy winning writer/producer John Shanks, who has worked on 43 number one singles and 86 number one albums across his career, collaborating with artists as diverse as Alanis Morrisette, The Corrs, Joe Cocker, Keith Urban, Ashlee Simpson, Miley Cyrus and Bon Jovi.

Confirming the new deal, Imagem USA boss Richard Stumpf told CMU: “Simply put, John brings the best out of the best. What he adds to the songwriting and production process is a gift, and we are very proud to have him as part of the Imagem Music family”.

Meanwhile Shanks himself added: “Nothing could make me happier than to be part of the Imagem family, where vision and creativity are paramount”.

Swizz Beatz has launched a new joint venture with the US division of independent publisher Imagem in the form of a new publishing enterprise under the producer’s own Monster Music umbrella. The first signings to the Monster Music Publishing business will be Swizz Beatz protégés Tyrone Johnson and Naki ‘Snagz’ Levy.

Says Beatz, aka Kaseem Dean: “I’m excited to be partnering with Richard [Stumpf] and the entire group over at Imagem Music. This partnership will enable me to further develop my group of talented producers and also introduce many new producers and writers to the world”.

While the President of Dean’s Monster Music Group, Monique Blake, told CMU: “Monster Music Publishing is one of the first ventures to come from the Monster Music Group umbrella, and we’re looking forward to much success with Imagem as our partner”.

And Imagem US chief Richard Stumpf added: “In addition to being a fantastic artist, writer and producer himself, Swizz is a magnet for great talent. We are very excited to partner with such an important member of the creative community. Amanda [Schupf, Creative Manager at Imagem Music] goes back a long way with Swizz and his team, so it is great to see that trust and friendship blossom into a business relationship”.

EMI Music Publishing has announced a global songwriting deal with New York based brother-sister duo Wild Belle, who have been building a fanbase on both sides of the Atlantic since self-releasing a track via Bandcamp.

Confirming the new deal, Roger Faxon, overall boss of the EMI Group, told CMU: “As the world’s leading and most creative publisher EMI is the perfect home for Wild Belle and I’m thrilled that Natalie and Elliot [Bergman] have chosen to join us. Our European and North American teams have worked hand-in-hand to bring this agreement to completion and I’ve no doubt that Wild Belle and EMI Music Publishing will have a long and very successful association together”.

The brother half of the duo, Elliot, added: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of the EMI family. [EMI Music Publishing's] Guy [Moot], Daniel [Lloyd-Jones] and Jon [Platt] have the best ears, minds and hearts in the music world and we are so happy to have them in our corner. We are looking forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with them!”

Country star Kenny Rogers has signed with Warner Bros Records, his latest partnership with the major, the first of which was with Reprise in the late 1960s. Most recently Rogers was allied to EMI, though, as previously reported, earlier this year he sued that major over various royalty payment grievances.

Confirming his new long-term deal with Warner, Rogers himself told reporters: “I’m looking forward to returnin home to Warner Bros Records after all these years. Our history together, combined with the incredible team that’s in place now, provides the catalyst for a great new relationship going forward”.

Meanwhile, John Esposito, boss of Warner Music Nashville, added: “With his unique storytelling ability and soulful voice, Kenny Rogers’ music has touched generations across all musical formats. He has not only had a remarkable career but is truly an American icon. Warner Music Nashville looks forward to continuing his musical legacy but more importantly, having him back home at Warner Bros Records”.

Live Nation is likely to work with Sony Music on Shakira’s forthcoming new releases, which means the Latin pop superstar will maintain her career long relationship with the major.

Shakira, of course, was one of four major league artists to sign a mega-bucks 360 degree deal with Live Nation back in 2008. The ten year partnership with the live music giant covered all aspects of the singer’s career, including recordings, though some aspects of the deal didn’t come into being immediately because of existing contractual commitments.

When Live Nation first negotiated its multi-million dollar multi-revenue stream deals with Shakira, Madonna, Jay-Z and Nickelback, there were grand plans at the live firm for a new division called Artist Nation, that would work with the company’s new signings on their non-touring activity once those aspects of the new deals went live. However, those ambitions were in the main dropped when the executive leading Artist Nation, Michael Cohl, was pushed out of the Live Nation business.

As a result, rather than competing with the major labels in the music rights space, Live Nation has in the main struck up partnerships with the big record companies to market and distribute releases by their 360 degree signed artists. A partnership was announced late last year with Universal to release Madonna’s upcoming records, while according to the New York Post an alliance with Sony will soon be announced regards Shakira’s new recorded output.

The Jonas Brothers have split from Disney’s Hollywood Records after three albums and seventeen million sales over six years. No reason has been given for the split, though it is said to be amicable. The band have reportedly also bought back the rights to their master recordings and merchandising for an undisclosed sum.

Nick Jonas told The Hollywood Reporter: “This was a decision that we made as a group. Naturally, as with any partnership, when you do part ways, there is emotion tied to it. We’ve been blessed to have a lot of success with Hollywood and with Disney, but speaking on behalf of my brothers and our team, we’re all looking forward to this next chapter. We’re ready for that next step as a group, and being able to take our work with us was so important”.

Graham Coxon has signed an exclusive publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis for his latest solo album, ‘A+E’. He joins fellow Blur bandmate Damon Albarn, who is already part of the BMG Chrysalis roster. BMG Chrysalis UK VP of A&R Ben Bodie told CMU: “It is an honour to represent a songwriter whose work has helped define rock music over the past two decades”.

Elsewhere in BMG news, the publisher has also signed the catalogue of Manchester band James, including all of their 1990s hits like ‘Sit Down’ and ‘She’s A Star’. On that deal Bodie said: “This is an outstanding catalogue of songs, and we are delighted that James have entrusted their catalogue to BMG Chrysalis”.

Buzzy London trio Daughter have signed a record deal with 4AD for all territories outside North America (where they are signed to Grassnote), they announced via their Facebook page yesterday.

The band are now set to begin writing songs for their debut album, but will still emerge for appearances at the Bushstock, Latitude, Green Man and Bestival festivals.

Now, here, listen to ‘Home’, taken from last year’s ‘The Wild Youth’ EP:

Montreal producer Airick Woodhead, aka Doldrums, has signed to Souterrain Transmissions for the release of his forthcoming three part single ‘Egypt’.

Its title track, which is available now as a free download, will have a physical and digital issue alongside b-sides ‘Jump Up’ and ‘Copper Girl’ on 4 Jun.

In the mean time, here’s main event ‘Egypt’:

Buzzy rapper Azealia Banks has signed a new deal with Lady Gaga’s manager Troy Carter, it has been announced.

The first sign that something was happening came on Tuesday, when she told fans via Twitter that her new EP, ’1991′, would not be released that day as planned. She wrote: “For all you asking, ’1991′ is getting delayed… AGAIN. I just switched management. Literally like three days ago, and have a whole new set of resources to take advantage of. We’re gonna vamp this up and make it official. No more ghetto mixes and closet recording. I have a budget now!”

Then yesterday it was confirmed that she is working with Carter’s Atom Factory, which as well as Gaga looks after thirteen year old popster Mindless Behavior and Grayson Chance. Banks’ debut album, ‘Broke With Expensive Taste’, is still scheduled for release via Universal/Interscope in September.

Mike Skinner has signed Man Like Me to his Beats label, which is news partly because – as those of you with a good memory will recall – Skinner shut down his record company in late 2007.

So The Beats label is back.

And according to Music Week, the next Man Like Me single will come out on 28 May via it and Cartoon Records, with an album to follow, which will include a version of the duo’s previous single ‘London Town’ reworked by Skinner himself.

Man Like Me are probably best known for their cover of Jona Lewie’s ‘You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties’, made famous by an Ikea sync. Meanwhile, during its relatively short-lived former life, The Beats released early works from Professor Green and Example, which were both pretty good early finds on Skinner’s part with hindsight.

CMU approved Norwegian trio Philco Fiction have signed a record deal with Something In Construction, which means their debut album, ‘Take It Personal’ this summer.

As well as this, the band have just been asked to support Neon Indian at Village Underground in East London on 6 Jun. They will also support Visions Of Trees at the near by Old Blue Last on 11 May, followed by two shows in Brighton for The Great Escape.

Now watch the video for album track ‘Finally’, it is good:

Rapper Q-Tip has signed a new deal with Kanye West’s Island Def Jam imprint GOOD Music, it was announced yesterday. His first album for the label, ‘The Last Zulu’, is due for release early next year.

Q-Tip said in a statement: “I’m excited to be a part of the great iconic Def Jam label. I’m humbled to be a part of such a storied history. To reconnect with [IDJ boss] Barry Weiss is a great thing. As far as GOOD Music, I’m excited to solidify my working relationship with Kanye, and I look forward to all the opportunities that lie ahead in our partnership. I will do my best to present the most cutting edge music I can”.

Referencing his relationship with Q-Tip’s former group A Tribe Called Quest when both were affiliated to Jive Records in the 90s, Weiss, now CEO of Universal’s Republic and IDJ divisions, added: “I am thrilled to be working with Q-Tip once again. He is a respected voice in the music community as shown by his acclaimed solo albums and countless contributions to the work of other artists. His creativity continues to surpass all boundaries of hip-hop, R&B, pop, and jazz. We welcome Q-Tip to the Island Def Jam/GOOD Music family”.

BMG Germany has announced an exclusive publishing deal with Swedish rockers Mando Diao

Confirming the deal, BMG’s Fred Casimir told CMU: “Mando Diao have scored the rare achievement of consistently increasing their fan base while maintaining their musical credibility. We look forward to working with them to further grow their success internationally”.

In a statement, the band themselves said: “We are glad to cooperate with BMG who have a lot of confidence in our different projects. The future is exciting and it will be great to see what we can do together”.

One-time Mercury Prize nominee Seth Lakeman has signed a new publishing deal with Sony/ATV, it has been announced.

Sony/ATV consultant Alan Bambrough, who brokered the deal, told CMU: “I’ve been a fan of Seth’s music for many years, so it’s great to be able to bring him here. The new album is superb and his ideas for future collaborations are very exciting”.

Rakesh Sanghvi, Sony/ATV’s UK MD, added: “I’m delighted to have the chance to work with such a super talented artist. Seth is a fantastic addition to our great team of writers”.

Lakeman release his new album ‘Tales From The Barrel House’ this week. Listen to first single, ‘More Than The Money’, which was recorded in a 200 foot deep mine, here:

He has also just announced tour dates for October, which look like this:

10 Oct: Basingstoke, The Anvil
11 Oct: Warwick, Arts Centre
12 Oct: Salisbury, City Hall
13 Oct: London, Cadogan Hall
14 Oct: Canterbury, Marlowe Theatre
16 Oct: Shrewsbury, Severn Theatre
17 Oct: Guildford, G Live
18 Oct: Gateshead, The Sage
19 Oct: Manchester, Royal Northern College Of Music
20 Oct: Scunthorpe, The Baths Hall
21 Oct: Ipswich, Corn Exchange
23 Oct: Buxton, Opera House
24 Oct: Barnstaple, The Queen’s Theatre
25 Oct: Birmingham, Town Hall
26 Oct: Truro, Hall For Cornwall
27 Oct: Plymouth, Theatre Royal

AEG Live, a company that didn’t seem at all keen on 360 degree deals when its rival Live Nation was dabbling in that domain a few years back, has signed singer Saint Saviour, aka Becky Jones, to a 360 degree deal.

The independent artist, best known for her work with Groove Armada (though her outstanding cover of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ should never be overlooked), will receive financial and marketing backing for her debut album from the live firm in return for a share in recording, publishing, merchandise, brand licensing, sponsorship and endorsement revenues, as well as a touring partnership.

Confirming the new deal, the President of AEG Live UK Rob Hallett told CMU: “We are really excited to make such a ground breaking deal with such an innovational [he means innovative] artist. This breaks the mould and provides a template for the future”.

Saint Saviour’s Manager Dan O’Neil added: “It feels right that we should be announcing such a groundbreaking partnership deal for Saint Saviour with a live touring company such as AEG Live UK. Stunning live performance has always been the ‘beating heart’ of what Saint Saviour is all about and, with this deal, AEG have demonstrated that they are truly backing, and directly investing in, new and exciting UK musical talent. This is a model of the future for young artists – no doubt”.

The album is also receiving funding from fans via Pledge Music. Announcing news of the deal to her backers on the site, Saint Saviour wrote: “I’m [AEG Live's] first ever signing as an artist so in a way we have made history! This is proof that with your direct help, I’ve been able to make the music I wanted to and take it, finished, to the market. This is just the beginning, please keep behind it and help me push it all the way – it’s probably going to be a very long road and we have to keep up the momentum”.

The album, entitled ‘Union’, will be released on 25 Jun. You can stream and download a track from it, ‘Fight’, here:

Pink has renewed her global deal with EMI Music Publishing, it was announced yesterday. The agreement covers all future songwriting as well as her back catalogue.

Pink told CMU: “I’m happy to have re-signed with EMI because they’ve been with me since the beginning and I look forward to the future with them”.

EMI Music Publishing’s President of North American Creative, Jon Platt, who brokered the deal, added: “Pink is a multi-talented songwriter and performer who seamlessly crosses genres. From pop to rock, she recognises originality and creativity, and she’s always growing and developing as a songwriter. It’s a privilege to continue our partnership with her”.

Universal Music Publishing has announced a deal with producer man, and 50% of Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse that will cover all his works created since 2010, and new works moving forward, in all territories outside North America. Albums the producer, real name Brian Burton, has been working on of late include new releases from The Black Keys, Norah Jones and U2.

Lining up to welcome Danger Mouse to their fold, two Universal Publishing execs said things this morning, including President Of Europe/UK Paul Connolly: “I’m really excited about this signing. Brian is immensely talented – we’re very proud to be working with him.”

Meanwhile Mike McCormack, Deputy MD of UMP UK added: “We have long admired Brian’s consistently high quality work as a writer and producer. It’s an exciting prospect to be finally working alongside him and [his manager] Ian Montone”.

Meanwhile, speaking for Danger Mouse, the there mentioned Montone told CMU: “”Universal Music Publishing are world class publishers and Paul Connolly and Mike McCormack are true music people. We are excited to be in business with them”.

EMI Music Australia yesterday announced that it had a new global partnership with Mel B. The deal was done by the major’s down under division (or “local label EMI”, to quote the Daily Mail) because she’s spent much of the last year and a half living and working in the country, including appearing as a judge on the Aussie version of ‘X-Factor’.

The singer, who is currently recording new material for release later this year, told CMU: “I’m overly excited to finally announce this amazing global partnership deal back home with EMI Music. I know I have mentioned doing music in the past but for legal reasons I was not in a position to release any new music. For my fans, I am happy and proud to say my music WILL be heard this year and that is for sure a promise I’m over the moon to say the least. Love me or hate me, Scary Spice is back, hahahaha!”