French/West/Vaughan (FWV), one of the nation’s largest independently-owned public relations, advertising and digital marketing agencies, announced it has been retained for national public relations support by Sound Royalties, the specialty finance firm serving creative talent in the music industry.
With headquarters in West Palm Beach, Fla., and additional staff in Nashville and Los Angeles, Sound Royalties extends funding to songwriters, producers and performers based on their royalty income. Every deal is customized, providing royalty advance options that are often used for recording new music, touring, marketing or other expenses to help creatives grow. Known for its artist-friendly policy of never taking ownership of a client’s copyrights, the firm offers banking-type solutions tailored to the individual. Sound Royalties has partnered with a wide range of music professionals including GRAMMY winners and platinum recording artists such as Lil Wayne and Pitbull.
Founder and CEO, Alex Heiche, launched Sound Royalties in 2014 to help fund creative careers without putting an individual’s copyrights at risk. Today, Heiche is an internationally recognized expert in music royalties and sought-after speaker who has presented at the invitation of the Recording Academy, Sync Summit, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University and many more.
“Our focus is to help fund the dreams and ambitions of our clients,” said Heiche. “FWV shares that commitment with us, so we’re excited to leverage their PR expertise as we continue to transform the financing model for creatives.”
FWV represents a diversified roster of clients and projects in music and entertainment, including Pendleton Whisky Music Fest, Stadium Entertainment LLC, MyMy Music, Eastwind Marketing Group (Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty by Nature), the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation and Wrangler’s sponsorship of the Academy of Country Music. The agency also works closely with the national non-profit Teen Cancer America and co-founder Roger Daltrey of The Who. For the Sound Royalties brand, FWV will handle national media relations and provide counsel on strategy, marketing and partnerships.
“Sound Royalties’ unique business model is opening doors for new creative work in a way that has never been available before,” said FWV Chairman & CEO, Rick French, who serves on the board of trustees of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame + Museum and The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. “As an agency with long-standing experience and deep roots in music, we’re thrilled to be working with Alex and his team.”
Ranked among the nation’s 15 largest PR firms overall (2018 O’Dwyer’s Ranking of Top U.S. PR Firms), FWV has captured 15 National Agency of the Year honors over the past two decades. The agency employs 113 public relations, public affairs, social media, advertising and digital marketing experts between its Raleigh, N.C. headquarters and New York City, Los Angeles and Tampa offices.
