New York, NY – Primary Wave Music, the leading independent publisher of iconic and legendary music in the world, announces today its partnership with the alternative rock band Spin Doctors. This exciting new partnership will see Primary Wave partner with the band on their music publishing and artist royalties, as well as administering their new album coming later this year. Terms of the partnership will also give the band access to Primary Wave’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, which includes digital strategy, licensing, synch opportunities, and film & TV production.
Over the course of their incredible 30+ years in music, the Grammy nominated band has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide and have performed more than 2000 live shows. They have toured with some of the biggest names in music including The Rolling Stones, Blues Traveler and Phish, performed at Woodstock, Glastonbury and more, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, were featured as the musical guest on SNL and even stopped by Sesame Street.
Included in the deal are some of the band’s biggest hits across their six studio albums such as “Two Princes,” “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” Jimmy Olsen’s Blues,” “What Time Is It?,” “Cleopatra’s Cat,” “You let Your Heart Go Too Fast,” and more. “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong”, which AllMusic described as “incessantly catchy” was the band’s debut single and reached the Top 20 upon release. The follow-up single was probably the band’s most well-known song, “Two Princes.” The track soared to the Top 10 after its release, was considered to be one of the biggest songs of 1992, and would go on to receive a Grammy nomination for “Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.” With the help of these two singles, their album Pocket Full of Kryptonite would go on to sell 5 million copies in the U.S. alone, sending it to number 3 on Billboard’s Top 200 and earned the band an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Of the new partnership, the band said “Spin Doctors have labored our entire career to create a catalog of super high caliber songs and we are absolutely certain it’s found the perfect partner to represent our catalogue and continue to get our music out to the next generation and beyond. Thanks to everyone who has been involved along the way. See you on the road!”
Samantha Rhulen, Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs at Primary Wave added, “In the early 90s, during my law school days, I saw Spin Doctors at Nightingales multiple times. Never could I have imagined that 30 years later, I would be overseeing our partnership with the band here at Primary Wave. It has brought back a ton of memories for me, and I am thrilled they are now part of the PW family.”
Formed in 1988 in New York City, in 1990 the Spin Doctors were signed to Epic Records/Sony Music by A&R executive Frankie LaRocka. The band’s Epic debut EP Up For Grabs was recorded live at Wetlands in Lower Manhattan and released in January 1991. In August 1991, the Spin Doctors released their full-length debut album Pocket Full Of Kryptonite, co-produced by Frank Aversa, Peter Denenberg and Frankie LaRocka. Relentless touring and a wave of positive press kept the album alive into the next year when sales began to increase dramatically. …Kryptonite was certified gold in September 1992 and received an additional boost from the band’s October appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” Reaching the one million mark in January 1993, …Kryptonite entered the Billboard Top Ten one month later. By June 1993, the album was triple platinum and had breached the Top Five among Billboard Pop Albums while spinning off two major hit singles: “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and the No. 1 Rock radio song of 1993, “Two Princes.” Ultimately, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite sold over five million copies in the US and another five million overseas. “[Their] popularity is based on universal rock & roll virtues,” said Rolling Stone, which put the band on the cover of its January 7, 1993 issue. “The Doctors aren’t trying to blaze new trails-they know we’ve been down this way with the Stones, Curtis Mayfield, and a few of their other touchstones. But the proof-plenty of it-is in the party.” In June 1994, the Spin Doctors released their second Epic album, Turn It Upside Down. Once again co-produced by Peter Denenberg and Frankie LaRocka, the album featured new originals like “Biscuit Head,” “Bags Of Dirt,” and “You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast.” The band set out on a three-month headlining tour and played to immense crowds at the Woodstock and Glastonbury festivals. Their cover of the Creedence Clearwater classic “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” was a highlight of the multi-platinum Philadelphia soundtrack. In November/December 1994, the Spins opened for the Rolling Stones on a series of eleven North American stadium shows. In March 1995, their album hit the one million (platinum) mark in the US, moving an additional million copies overseas. The Spin Doctors’ next Epic album, You’ve Got to Believe In Something, was produced by Danny Kortchmar and released in May 1996; more touring followed. The band would release three more albums, 1999’s Here Comes The Bride, 2005’s Nice Talk to Me, and If the River Was Whiskey which was released in 2013. Thirty years. A thousand twists. But whatever happens down the road, rest assured that the Spin Doctors will always be the last men standing, still making music like their lives depend on it, still riding the bus, still shaking the room. Even now, plans are afoot for a seventh studio album and another swashbuckling world tour, adding to their tally of almost two thousand shows.
Source: Primary Wave Press Release, June 11th, 2024.
Picture: Offical 2024 press photo, via United Talents Agency (band’s current booking agency)
