Kendrick Lamar has inked an exclusive global administration deal with Universal Music Publishing Group.
In a statement included in Tuesday's Music Business Worldwide report on the agreement, UMPG CEO and chairman Jody Gerson touted Lamar’s lyrical prowess while looking ahead to working with the Top Dawg Entertainment team.
"Kendrick Lamar is not only one of the greatest lyricists that has ever lived, but he has done as much or more than any artist to promote much needed change in our society through music," Gerson said. "I and my colleagues at UMPG are deeply honored to be afforded the opportunity to join Kendrick, Anthony 'Top Dawg' Tiffith, and the TDE family to help forward his unique and important vision."
According to Tiffith, Gerson and the UMPG team were "passionate from the jump" about working together.
"She fought to make the deal happen," Tiffith added.
Typically, an administration deal marks a partnership between a songwriter and a publishing administrator, meaning the songwriter retains ownership of the copyright. The publishing administrator, meanwhile, provides administrative—i.e. not creative—services.
The current UMPG roster features a number of previous Lamar collaborators including SZA, Imagine Dragons, U2, and Taylor Swift. Other UMPG artists include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Elton John, Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Justin Timberlake, blink-182, Post Malone, Halsey, Rosalía, Pearl Jam, and more.
Lamar, whose last solo studio album was 2017's Damn, recently shared some insight on his careful and meticulous approach to putting together new albums during a discussion with Baby Keem for i-D magazine.
"I spend the whole year just thinking about how I'm gonna execute a new sound," Lamar said. "I can't do the same thing over and over. I need something to get me excited."
