Primary Wave strikes ‘multi-million-dollar’ publishing deal with estate of The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek

Music publisher Primary Wave has struck a “multi-million-dollar” partnership with the estate of Ric Ocasek, the frontman of 80s new wave band The Cars, perhaps best known for their 1984 hit Drive.

The deal will see Primary Wave share in the rights of Ocasek’s publishing catalog, including all of The Cars’ songs, as well as Ocasek’s solo career, according to a press release.

According to the announcement, Primary Wave will also share in Ocasek’s name and likeness rights, and his estate will gain access to the company’s marketing team and publishing infrastructure, with an eye to new marketing, branding, digital, and sync opportunities, as well as film and TV projects.

Ocasek, who died in 2019, sold more than 20 million albums as part of The Cars and clocked 13 Top 40 hits on the Billboard charts. Ocasek wrote and performed lead vocals on Cars hits such as My Best Friend’s Girl, Let The Good Times Roll, and Let’s Go.

The band’s 1978 track Just What I Needed – the first single from their self-titled debut album – was included in Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

The band was nominated for a “Best New Artist” Grammy in 1979, one of six Grammy nominations they would receive. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 by Brandon Flowers of The Killers.

“They achieved greatness and left a comet trail behind them, writing and recording songs that have transcended into classics… Forty years later they still sound like a new band to me,” Flowers said of the band.

“It is an absolute honor to partner with the Estate of Ric Ocasek. His words, music and overall vision left such an indelible mark on the historical musical landscape.”

Adam Lowenberg, Primary Wave

Drive was The Cars’ highest charting single, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Adult Contemporary chart. It was nominated for Grammy in the “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” category.

Ocasek also worked as a producer for a number of prominent bands including Weezer, Bad Religion, Nada Surf and No Doubt.

“It is an absolute honor to partner with the estate of Ric Ocasek. His words, music and overall vision left such an indelible mark on the historical musical landscape,” Primary Wave’s Chief Marketing Officer, Adam Lowenberg, said in a statement.

“I cannot imagine my own youth without the songs of Ric Ocasek. We are so eager to begin creating new opportunities to introduce Ric’s world to a whole new audience.”

Primary Wave has been on an acquisition spree of late, powered by a $2-billion partnership with Brookfield Asset Management in 2022, which saw the firm take a minority stake in the New York-headquartered music publisher founded and led by Larry Mestel.

In just the past year, Primary Wave acquired the catalog of Nuno Bettencourt of 90s rock band Extreme; inked a publishing partnership with alt-rock band The Spin Doctors; and signed a music rights deal with Neil Finn of Crowded House.

The company also struck a deal for the recorded, publishing, brand and name and likeness rights of The Village People of YMCA fame; a catalog deal with the estate of songwriter and musician P.F. Sloan; and a stake in the catalog of singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka.Music Business Worldwide