Nashville-based independent publishing company Mojo Music & Media has acquired the complete publishing catalog of Irish songwriter and producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee for an undisclosed sum.
The deal, which totals more than 200 songs, features multiple pop, rock and dance chart hits including Juliet’s Ride The Pain, Snow Patrol’s Just Say Yes, Bonnie McKee’s American Girl, Kodaline’s The One, The Killers’ The Man and Taylor Swift and Gary Lightbody’s The Last Time, a single from Taylor’s Red album.
Lee got his start in the mid-90s as guitarist for Irish punk band Compulsion, who charted singles on both sides of the Atlantic, before going on to record a series of solo albums including 1998’s Muy Rico and Punk Rock High Roller in 2001.
He segued to record production in 2004, working on Kasabian’s self-titled debut and beginning his long collaboration with U2 on their acclaimed How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb.
He finished the decade as busy as he started it, contributing to Regina Spector’s Far, Bloc Party’s North American breakthrough A Weekend In The City and The Editors’ platinum-plus An End Has A Start.
By the early 2010s, Lee had become an in-demand producers in both the UK and the US, working on albums by Crystal Castles, Snow Patrol (including multi-platinum Final Straw and Eyes Open), Kodaline (including chart single The One) and REM’s Accelerate and Collapse Into Now.
In 2012, he wrote and produced song on each of the year’s two biggest albums: The Last Time for Taylor Swift’s Red album and Something Great for One Direction’s Midnight Memories, while also contributing to Robbie Williams No.1 album Take The Crown.
In 2016, Lee co-wrote and produced two alt-rock radio singles, Twin Atlantic’s No Sleep and Two Door Cinema Club’s Are We Ready (Wreck).
The last few years have seen Lee work with The Killers and Catfish And The Bottlemen as well as Beth Ditto, Beaches and Elle King, among others.
Lee picked up two Grammy awards and the Producer Of The Year honor at the UK’s MMF Awards in 2006 for his work with U2.
He was named International Producer of the Year by the Music Producer’s Guild in 2018.
“It’s hard to imagine what contemporary rock music would sound like without Jacknife Lee.”
Mark Fried, Mojo
Mojo Co-Founder and CEO, Mark Fried, said: “It’s hard to imagine what contemporary rock music would sound like without Jacknife Lee.
“For the last two decades, he’s helped some of our favorite bands perfect their sound and put a shine on many of their best loved songs. We’re chuffed to be able to care take and promote so rich a legacy of work.”
According to Jill Hollywood of Echo Beach Management, added: “Mojo Music is the perfect home for Jacknife’s catalog.
“The creative team at Mojo were quick to recognize the evergreen quality of Jacknife’s 20 years of collaborations with some of the biggest names in contemporary Pop and have built a marketing plan which treats his work with the respect and sensitivity it deserves.
“We look forward to working with them as guardians of his legacy in the years to come.”
Mojo says that it has been actively adding to its roster of songs and songwriters in recent months, signing global publishing deals for the complete catalogs of Dave Wakeling (The Beat and General Public), Al McKay (Earth Wind & Fire) and bluesman Jonny Lang, among others.
Last year, Mojo Music & Media acquired a 50% interest in the complete publishing catalog of Rick Nielsen, the co-founder and principal songwriter for rock band Cheap Trick.Music Business Worldwide
