Primary Wave strikes music rights deal with songwriter and musician Keith Forsey

Primary Wave Music has acquired the writer’s and producer shares of songwriter and musician Keith Forsey.

Terms of the deal include Forsey’s writing and production on songs such as What A Feeling, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Hot Stuff, White Wedding,  Rebel Yell, and more.

Also included are songs he wrote for a number of films including Flashdance, The Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters, The NeverEnding Story, Beverly Hills Cop and others.

Flashdance…What a Feeling was co-written by Forsey in 1983 for the film Flashdance. Sung and co-written by Irene Cara, the track spent six weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 14 weeks in the Top 10, making it the longest-running Top 10 single of 1983.

It sold more than a million copies and won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

In 2023 the song was chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

Don’t You (Forget About Me) is also included in the deal.

Co-written by Forsey and Steve Schiff, the US No.1 song was inspired by and featured in the 1985 cult classic film, The Breakfast Club.

Recorded by Simple Minds, the single became the band’s biggest hit.

Forsey also had another No.1 with Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff. Released in 1975, the song won Summer a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and was later included on Rolling Stone’s list of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time.’

“It gives me a good feeling to work with a company like Primary Wave, where I know they will respect and take care of the music that I had the good fortune to be able to create with many talented people throughout my career.”

Keith Forsey

Keith Forsey said: “It gives me a good feeling to work with a company like Primary Wave, where I know they will respect and take care of the music that I had the good fortune to be able to create with many talented people throughout my career.

“Keith Forsey’s career as a songwriter, producer, and musician is nothing less than iconic.”

Robin Godfrey Cass, Primary Wave

Primary Wave’s Robin Godfrey Cass, added: “Keith Forsey’s career as a songwriter, producer, and musician is nothing less than iconic.

“We are honored and thrilled to be a part of this amazing body of work.”

Primary Wave’s deal with Keith Forsey comes two weeks after the company acquired the catalog of Nuno Bettencourt, the guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer known best as the lead guitarist of 90s hard rock band Extreme.

Other recent Primary Wave deals include a multi-million-dollar music rights deal with Neil Finn, founding member of Crowded House, in April.

That same month, US singer, songwriter and pianist Neil Sedaka sold a stake in his music publishing and master recording rights to Primary Wave for an undisclosed amount.

In February, Primary Wave signed a partnership with Y.M.C.A hitmakers Village People, covering the group’s brand, as well as name & likeness rights, plus master recordings and publishing assets.

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