Neil Diamond Signs With Capitol Records (Exclusive)
Billboard has learned Capitol Music Group will announce it has signed legendary singer/songwriter Neil Diamond to its Capitol Records label. The deal will mark the first time Diamond’s entire catalog…
Billboard has learned Capitol Music Group will announce it has signed legendary singer/songwriter Neil Diamond to its Capitol Records label. The deal will mark the first time Diamond’s entire catalog has been under one label.
The new deal is Diamond’s second go-round at Universal, of which Capitol is a subsdiary, and where he was signed from the late-60s to the early-70s to its MCA label. Diamond, up until this deal, had been signed since the early-70s to Columbia and before that recorded for Bang Records from 1966-68, which was then under the Atlantic umbrella. Now, his entire back catalog will be housed under one label.
Capitol Music Group chairman and CEO Steve Barnett and Universal Music Group chairman CEO Lucian Grainge were instrumental in orchestrating the deal with Diamond and his manager Katie Diamond (his wife). Barnett worked closely with Diamond previously when he was at Columbia and will personally oversee Diamond’s future projects at Capitol.
Diamond, 72, is currently writing new material and is slated to begin recording later this year. His new team and Universal Music Enterprises is formulating a strategy to release his extensive back catalog.
Having sold more than 128 million records over the course of his storied career, Diamond is a Grammy Award-winning artist and member of both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame. His is also a recipient of the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honors bestowed upon songwriters. Diamond has garnered a Golden Globe Award, 13 Grammy nominations, and received the 2009 NARAS MusiCares Person of the Year Award. In 2011, Diamond also received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime of contributions to American culture.