Concord has acquired independent Australian music publisher Native Tongue.
The company has launched its first offices in the Australasian region, Concord Music Publishing Australia & New Zealand (ANZ).
“Concord’s investment in Native Tongue and its staff marks yet another strategic move for the company, further expanding its global reach and the resources that it can provide for its artists, songwriters, composers and playwrights,” said a statement.
Native Tongue was founded in 2003 by Chris Gough. Since his semi-retirement in 2014, the company has been led by siblings Jaime and Chelsea Gough.
Concord Music Publishing ANZ will be based in Melbourne, with staff in Sydney and Auckland. It will be led by Jaime Gough, managing director, and Chelsea Gough, SVP, along with their executive team including David Nash, VP publishing and Matt Tanner, VP A&R.
The Native Tongue roster includes writers such as Courtney Barnett, Stuart Crichton (Backstreet Boys, Kesha, Kygo), Sophie Curtis (Cosmos Midnight, Jessica Mauboy, aespa), Sir Dave Dobbyn, Jon Hume (Dean Lewis, Sofi Tukker), M-Phazes (Ruel, Remi Wolf), Don McGlashan, Ciara Muscat (NiziU, Twice), Steve Rusch (Clinton Kane), Tim Tan (Enhypen, Seventeen), Gin Wigmore and Marlon Williams.
In addition to its successes in Australia and New Zealand, Native Tongue has had songwriters on five Korean No.1 charting releases and on two consecutive No.1 albums in Japan at the start of 2022.
Native Tongue is also the sub-publisher for many international catalogues and has represented Concord (and previously Boosey & Hawkes and Imagem) in Australia & New Zealand for more than 12 years.
This provides our home-grown writers with a truly international organisation capable of maximising their potential worldwide
Chris Gough
“Jaime and Chelsea along with our wonderful team of people have grown the company significantly in recent years,” said Native Tongue founder Chris Gough, “This is the next step, providing our home-grown writers with a truly international organisation capable of maximising their potential worldwide.”
John Minch, Concord’s president of international publishing, said: "Australia and New Zealand are important music markets in their own right and this is a region that we have wanted to invest in for many years. This will be an important strategic move for Concord in coordinating our Asia publishing initiatives, which Jaime will handle. Above all, this acquisition is about the Native Tongue team, who we know well and believe will really enjoy being part of Concord.”
“This is the start of a new chapter for us,” added Jaime Gough, managing director of Concord Music Publishing ANZ. “Our team has worked hard to provide the best publishing service in the region, so to combine this with the support of an independent global music powerhouse will enable us to provide a superior international service for our local songwriters and artists. To be able to take this next step with friends that we have worked closely with for many years is exciting. We know Concord believes in the team we have here, and in the Australasian market. This will be fun!”
PHOTO: (L-R) Chelsea Gough, Chris Gough, Jaime Gough
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