Primary Wave Music announced today they have expanded their partnership with legendary British rock ‘n’ roll icons and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Def Leppard. The deal will now see the independent publishing powerhouse acquire an additional stake in the iconic band’s music publishing catalog as well as master royalty income stream. Many of the band’s biggest hits are included in this exciting new deal such as “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Rock Of Ages,” and their global hit “Photograph,” which continues to be one of their most iconic and best loved live anthems. The band’s repertoire includes 11 studio albums and over 110 million albums sold globally, including two back-to-back releases that sold more than 10 million copies. Def Leppard are also one of just five rock bands with two original studio albums selling more than ten million copies each in the US

The relationship between Primary Wave and Def Leppard began in 2009 when the company announced they would market and administer the band’s catalog of songs. Over the last ten plus years, the partnership between Primary Wave and Def Leppard produced many exciting initiatives and placements. Their songs have been synced on a number of television shows by the Primary Wave sync team including “Cobra Kai,” “Hit The Floor,” “The Simpsons Guy,” “American Horror Story 1984” and more. Primary Wave’s digital division has been instrumental in building Def Leppard’s overall online audience, as well as in helping launch their full catalog of Diamond, Platinum & Multi-Platinum albums across all streaming platforms in 2018. Since the launch, their music has been streamed over 5.5 billion times and averaged 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone in 2021.

“With Def Leppard celebrating 45 years as a band this year, we at Primary Wave are beyond excited on further partnering with them in a more meaningful way. We are thrilled to continue building and elevating not only the band’s musical body of work but their impact in pop culture and the industry in general” states Rob Dippold, Partner & Chief Digital Strategy Officer for Primary Wave Music. “It has been an absolute pleasure over the last decade working with the band, management and their entire team. We look forward to a collaborative, fun and fruitful relationship as the band continues to push new boundaries not only musically, but also in their live performance.”

Ramon Villa, Chief Operating Officer at Primary Wave Music, adds “When we partner with artists, we look at it as they are joining our family. Def Leppard is an icon in music history as they continue to entertain people worldwide. We are always excited and humbled when an iconic artist entrusts us to help further expand the reach of their creative body of work. In this case of Def Leppard, is it even more gratifying to see them happy in the family and wanting to expand the partnership. Welcome again Def Leppard and thank you!”

With more than 110 million albums sold worldwide, two prestigious Diamond Awards in the US, 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame® inductees, Def Leppard – Joe Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick Savage (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitar), and Rick Allen (drums) – continue to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career the band has produced a series of classic ground-breaking albums that set the bar for generations of music fans and artists alike. The group’s spectacular live shows and arsenal of hits have become synonymous with their name, leading Def Leppard to be heralded as an institution in both the music and touring industry. Def Leppard’s influential career includes numerous hit singles and ground-breaking multi-platinum albums - including two of the best-selling albums of all time, Pyromania and Hysteria, capturing the group’s legendary tracks, bringing together classic Leppard hits such as “Rock Of Ages,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and “Foolin.” For the first time, in January 2018 Def Leppard debuted their full recording catalog worldwide via streaming and download platforms. As they did with the original release of their records, Def Leppard dominated the worldwide charts again. Chart stats saw their albums charting in the iTunes Top 10 in more than 30 countries, including Hysteria at No. 3 in the US, and No. 5 in the U.K. Def Leppard had the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 records on the US catalog albums chart.