Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has signed an exclusive worldwide music publishing agreement with songwriter and producer Julian Bunetta, as announced today by Donna Caseine, Senior Vice President, U.S./International Creative Affairs, UMPG, and Monti Olson, Executive Vice President/Head of Pop & Rock Music, UMPG. The deal encompasses all of Bunetta’s future works as well as his entire catalog, including pop super group One Direction’s hit singles “Best Song Ever” and “Story of My Life” as well as multiple other cuts on the group’s upcoming album Midnight Memories, which will be released on November 25th. The album’s first single “Best Song Ever” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold more than 977,000 copies in the US since its release in July. The song also became a Top 5 hit in twelve countries worldwide, while its music video has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube. The second single off the album, “Story of My Life,” was released on October 28th and hit No. 1 on iTunes.
“I am thrilled to be working with Universal Music Publishing Group. I have been a fan of their team for quite some time and I’m looking forward to our partnership,” said Julian Bunetta.
“I’ve known Julian for many years and I am very excited to at last be able to work alongside him and his outstanding team,” said Donna Caseine.
“Julian Bunetta is a rising star in the world of songwriting with his greatest success still to come. We are honored to be his publisher and welcome Julian and his manager Damon into the UMPG family,” said Monti Olson.
In addition to his work on Midnight Memories, Bunetta also contributed to multiple tracks on One Direction’s 2012 album Take Me Home, including “C’mon, C’mon” (co-wrote and co-produced), “I Would” (co-produced), and “They Don’t Know About Us” (co-produced). The album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has earned platinum certification from the RIAA. Other successful artists Bunetta has worked with include Jason Derulo (co-wrote “Breathing”), Emblem3 (co-wrote “Teenage Kings”), Lupe Fiasco (co-wrote and co-produced “Put Em Up”), Leona Lewis (co-wrote and co-produced “Brave”), and Olly Murs (co-wrote and produced “What a Buzz”; co-wrote “One of These Days”), among others. Bunetta has also composed music for various film soundtracks.
