TORONTO, ON - ole, the world's fastest-growing independent music publishing and rights management company, announced today it has signed an exclusive, worldwide 360 deal to curate the music and personality legacy of iconic Canadian artist Stompin' Tom Connors. Under the deal, ole will manage publishing and master distribution rights, Connor's YouTube presence, merchandising and trademark licensing rights.

"We're very proud to be entrusted with the legacy of one of the greatest, Canadian artists of all time and we look forward to the opportunity to broaden the audience of Stompin' Tom's iconic music and personality in the years to come," said Robert Ott, CEO, ole 

From left to right: Tyler Hurst, Senior Acquisitions Analyst, ole, Robert Ott, CEO, ole, Tom Connors Jr., Andy Curran, General Manager, Label Services A&R, ole

Connors, hailed as the unofficial Canadian poet laureate, is credited with writing more than 300 songs with total sales in excess of 4 million copies. With his homespun and fiercely patriotic brand of music, Connors rich musical legacy includes Canadian country chart topping hits "Bud the Spud", "Luke's Guitar", "The Bridge Came Tumbling Down", "Sudbury Saturday Night", "Big Joe Mufferaw", "Ketchup Song" and Canadian anthem "The Hockey Song". Connor's accolades include JUNO Awards for Best Male Country Singer (1971-75) and Country Album of the Year (1978), the East Coast Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, SOCAN National Achievement Award (1999), SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award (2009), the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (2000), Toronto Musicans' Union Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), and was the subject of a postage stamp issued in Canada Post's recording artist series.

"The Connors family would like to thank ole and its staff who have been nothing less than sincerely excited and most helpful in working with us to bring Stompin' Tom and his great Canadian music to their organization," said Tom Connors Jr. "They have shown us the same top notch level of professionalism and courteousness that we had been accustomed to over the decades. We look forward to this new relationship where ole, along with Stompin' Tom, during his own 50th anniversary, will help celebrate Canada in song to the world during its own 150th celebrations this year and beyond."


For more information please contact:

Samantha Pickard
Strut Entertainment
samantha@strutentertainment.com
647.405.1715

Or

Laura Steen
Strut Entertainment
laura@strutentertainment.com
416.300.9254


About Stompin' Tom Connors

Connors won the JUNO Award for best male country singer every year from 1971-75, and his LP To It and At It (1972), received a Juno in 1974 for Country Album of the Year. In 1978, however, he returned the awards in protest of JUNOs given to expatriate Canadians.

In 1993, Connors was to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, but declined the honour. He accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Coast Music Awards on the condition that an award was created to honour those who made a long-term contribution to the East Coast music industry and paved the way for other East Coast artists. The Stompin' Tom Award was established in 1996, and that year Connors was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

He was a recipient of a SOCAN National Achievement Award in 1999, as well as the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 2000. In 2009, he received a SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award and was the subject of a postage stamp issued in Canada Post's Canadian Recording Artist series. The East Coast Music Awards honoured him on multiple occasions. Stompin' Tom Road in Skinners Pond, PEI is named for him and the Toronto Musicians' Union gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He also received honorary degrees from St. Thomas University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Prince Edward Island. This year he will be honoured with the Stompin' Tom Cultural Centre and Schoolhouse in his hometown of Skinners Pond, PEI slated to open on Canada Day.

About ole

ole is one of the world's foremost rights management companies with investments of over $550M in music intellectual property (IP). Founded in 2004, with operations in Toronto, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles and London, ole is engaged in IP acquisitions, creative development, and worldwide rights management. The ole catalog includes over 55,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV and film music across all genres. Copyrights under ole's control include songs recorded by artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Beyoncé, Blake Shelton, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Michael Jackson, One Direction, Rihanna, Rush, Taylor Swift, and Timbaland.

ole controls substantial A/V music and secondary rights including catalogs from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Entertainment One, MGM, Miramax, Nelvana, and Nu Image/Millennium, as well as an extensive production music library of over 750,000 tracks including Jingle Punks, Cavendish Music, 5 Alarm Music, MusicBox, Nelvana Production Music, Auracle, and Cue. In September 2016, ole acquired rights management company Compact Media - which manages Audio-Visual Secondary Rights for more than 700 clients around the world - in a major deal that furthers ole's commitment to delivering leading-edge IP rights management services across the globe.

ole is committed to the creative development of its 150+ staff songwriters, legacy writers, and composers and adding value to our catalogs and client catalogs. Current ole writers include Timbaland, Tyler Farr, Chris Janson, Josh Dorr, Gord Bamford, Brett Jones, Jeremy Stover, Phil O'Donnell, Jordan Davis, and Ian Thornley. ole has ongoing ventures with Last Gang Publishing, Roots Three Music, Jackoby Publishing, and most recently, ole-Bluestone Publishing, ole's venture with global hitmaker Timbaland. ole's legacy catalogs and writers include Rush, Max Webster, Coney Hatch, and Ian Thomas.

ole also operates a robust label services arm under the umbrella of ole label services. The division includes Anthem Entertainment Group, the label home of Rush, Big Wreck, Ian Thornley, Steven Page, The Tea Party. Anthem Legacy includes Max Webster, Ian Thomas, and artist development label red dot, which has developed and up-streamed artists including Charlie Worsham, Haley Reinhart, Josh Dorr, Sam Grow, and Jordan Davis.

ole Digital is a full YouTube MCN partner for all media with over 12 billion views across publishing, masters and A/V to date.