Proper Press Department Grows Amid First Year Success
- Artists on distributed labels boast national televisioninterviews and features in top UK press
- Division grows with new hire Joshua Hart joining as PressOfficer
London, 29 August 2019: Celebratingtheir one year anniversary since launch, Proper Music Group’s Press andPromotions division have now been joined by Press Officer Joshua Hart as theyreflect on stellar year of success with their distributed label artists.
Much has been said of the celebrations for the80th anniversary of legendary folk label Topic Records. The criticallyacclaimed Barbican show - with performances from folk pioneer Martin Carthyalongside Eliza Carthy, Sam Lee, Bernard Butler and many more - received 4* fromThe Times and followed the release of Topic Record’s landmark compilation, Vision & Revision. Featuring coversof Topic releases by legendary and new folk acts, the album was a hit with TheSun, The Guardian, MOJO, Uncut and Q.
Continuing their work with Grammyaward-winning singer-songwriter Macy Gray, the press team has been driving hercampaign in the UK with interviews on ITV’s Loose Women, Good Morning Britainwith Piers Morgan, and ITV’s Lorraine, all in support of her milestone tenthrecord, Ruby (Mack Avenue Records).
On their work together, Macy Gray said ‘Jo’s a gangsta!’
Proper have also helped propel CarolineSpence’s her third full-length album MintCondition (Roundless Records). The Nashville-based country singer receivedincredible early reviews including a 10/10 from Americana UK. Other notablemedia highlights include a performance on the Andrew Marr Show for Jeremy &The Harlequins, and a 4* from The Arts Desk for Richard Thompson’s 13 Rivers, while Thea Gilmore’s SmallWorld Turning was the Mail on Sunday’s album of the week.
Commenting on the press department success,Proper MD Drew Hill said ‘Jo and thepress team have been working tremendously hard on such an exciting, diverserange of projects and it’s great to see that paying off.’
Head of the Press and Promotions department,Jo Donnelly, added ‘In just one year wehave achieved so much and, withJosh now on board, we’ll continue to go from strength to strength, workingacross genres and with talent coming from across the globe. On the back of therecently signed distribution deal with the Australian label Dot Dash /Remote Control, we can’t wait to get involved with some of their brilliantupcoming projects too.’
Meanwhile, Proper are celebrating as over halfof nominees for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, which honours the achievement offolk and acoustic acts, are either distributed by Proper or on their in-houselabel, Proper Records. Nominees include Lisa O’Neill (River Lea), who toppedthe shortlist with four nominations, drummer Seckou Keita (ARC Music), KittyMacfarlane (Navigator Records) and piper Brìghde Chaimbeul (River Lea). Otherlabels distributed by Proper with artists in the running include Rootbeat,Hudson and From Here Records.
About Proper Music Group
Proper Music Groupis a full services company providing everything from global physical anddigital distribution to artist and label services, publishing, online retailand its own record label. Clients are able to tap into as much or as little ofProper’s offering as fits their needs.
Its distributionarm, Proper Music Distribution – the largest independent physical distributorin the UK – is renowned for having the knowledge, experience and personalservice of a specialist coupled with the reach and power of a major. Thecompany distributes for nearly 1000 independent labels, representing around 10%of the UK physical recorded music market, and handles over 1,000,000 titles atany time.
Proper Music Groupreceived The Company Award: Diversity In The Workplace at the Women In MusicAwards 2017, and was also awarded best Sales Team at 2017’s Music Week Awards.