Downtown Publishing

Congrats to Neon Trees on having the #1 song on Billboard’s Alternative Rock Radio Chart with their single “Animal”. “Animal” is also #2 (as of this post) on the iTunes Alternative Singles chart, and the band has sold over 500,000 singles so far. Watch the music video for “Animal” HERE.

Bonnie McKee is a bonafide hitmaker here in the U.S., with her writing contribution to recent Billboard #1 hit “California Gurls” by Katy Perry, and current chart topper “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz. “Dynamite,” the follow up to Taio Cruz’s No. 1 Single “Break Your Heart” is rapidly climbing the chart, and currently holds the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. “Dynamite” was written by DMP’s own Bonnie McKee, along with Taio Cruz, Lukasz Gottwald, Benjamin Levin, and Max Martin.

Antonina Armato, the lyrical mastermind behind over 20 Top Ten singles, is at it again with the recent release of Miley Cyrus’s third studio album, Can’t Be Tamed. Having collaborated with the pop sensation on previous hit singles including “7 Things,” “See You Again,” and “Fly On The Wall,” Armato has co-writing credits on 5 brand new tracks from Can’t Be Tamed, which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. These tracks include “Can’t Be Tamed,” “Liberty Walk,” “Who Owns My Heart,” “Two More Lonely People,” and “Forgiveness and Love”.

In addition to her extensive professional history with Miley Cyrus, Armato has also collaborated with countless other pop stars, including The Jonas Brothers, Aly & AJ, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez & The Scene, and David Archuleta. Throughout the years Armato’s lyrics, which speak of growing up, breaking free, and falling in love, have inspired millions of listeners.

The City of Los Angeles will officially declare April 23rd, 2010 as “Ozomatli Day” to celebrate and recognize the fifteenth year of the LA based and Grammy-award winning band, Ozomatli.

This celebration will include a special presentation of “Ozomatli Day” by Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and Los Angeles City Council members at the Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, located downtown.

Select students from the Los Angeles School District will benefit from the unique opportunity to witness the event, as well as mingle with Ozomatli band members during an intimate “Meet and Greet”. Invited students will then present a special performance of selected Ozomatli repertoire during the “Ozomatli Day Jam Session.”

“Ozomatli Day” is in coordination the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles and with Levitt Pavilions, a national nonprofit organization that inspires and strengthens communities through live music experiences. Participating Los Angeles high schools and organizations include Hamilton High School, Narbonne High School, Fairfax High School, Plaza de la Raza, Art in the Park, Partnership to Uplift Communities School (PUC), A Place Called Home, and Central Area High School #9

Ozomatli’s music — a collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga — has long followed a key mantra… it will take you around the world by taking you around the city of Los Angeles.

Ozomatli are releasing their fifth studio album, Fire Away on April 20th on Mercer Street Recordings / Downtown Recordings. In addition to taking their incendiary live show on the road in support of Fire Away, Ozomatli will be collaborating with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as well as the Boston Pops Orchestra for the 125th Pops Anniversary Celebration in May, and once again serving as US Cultural Ambassadors to China and Mongolia, with a US sponsored State Department trip that will include community outreach and performances.

Ozomatli were also recently honored to play for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 32nd Annual Award Gala, held in Washington DC.

DMP is excited to announce a worldwide publishing agreement with Grammy nominated recording artist, songwriter and producer Cam’ron. Under the terms of the agreement, DMP will exclusively represent Cam’ron’s Killa Cam Music (BMI) song catalog as well as future works.

Cam’ron (born Cameron Giles) has been a staple in New York’s Hip Hop scene for over a decade. Beginning with the release of his 1998 Epic Records debut, “Confessions of Fire”, Cam has sold over 10 million albums as a solo recording artist.

In addition to penning hit singles such as “Horse & Carriage”, “Oh Boy” and “Hey Ma”, Cam has collaborated with artists ranging from Mariah Carey and Usher to Kanye West and Gucci Mane. In 2002, Cam founded Diplomat Records and has released and co-written Gold and Platinum selling albums for artists including Dipset, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones.

Downtown Music Publishing is thrilled to welcome Loudon Wainwright III to the DMP roster of songwriters!

Loudon wrote his first song in 1968, “Edgar”, about a Watch Hill, RI lobsterman, and was soon signed to Atlantic Records by Nesuhi Ertegun. Several years later, Clive Davis lured him to Columbia Records, where 1972’s “Album III” yielded the top 20 hit “Dead Skunk”. His recording career spans a total of 23 albums, including 2009’s Grammy-winning “High Wide & Handsome”, a musical tribute to Charlie Poole (1893-1931); the legendary yet obscure NC singer and banjo player.

Wainwright has collaborated with songwriter /producer Joe Henry on the music for Judd Apatow’s hit movie “Knocked Up”, written music for the British theatrical adaptation of the Carl Hiaasen novel “Lucky You”, and composed topical songs for NPR’s “Morning Edition “and “All Things Considered” and ABC’s “Nightline”. Loudon Wainwright songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Rufus Wainwright, and Mose Allison, among others. Loudon’s newest CD release is 2010’s “Songs For the New Depression”, a collection of topical songs on his own label, Cummerbund Records.

DJ A-Trak and Travis Barker have joined forces, performing versions of each other’s remixes and producing original material. The duo debuted their collaboration at Hollywood’s Roxy Theater on March 9th and are set to make appearances at SXSW and the Winter Music Conference this year.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF MTV’S INTERVIEW WITH A-TRAK & TRAVIS BARKER:

Shane MacGowan, singer and songwriter for The Pogues, recently put together a musical collaboration to raise money for Haiti. The result is an amazing cover of the 1956 hit “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, and members of The Sex Pistols, The Pretenders, and The Clash join MacGowan on the collaboration. Read on…

WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO ON THE ‘MAKING-OF’ “I PUT A SPELL ON YOU”: