Dynamite Songs has acquired the music catalog of Terry Kirkman, the late co-founder, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the 1960s pop-vocal group The Association. The deal, struck with the Kirkman estate, encompasses 71 compositions, including the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Cherish,” “Everything That Touches You,” “Six Man Band,” and “Requiem for the Masses.”
The transaction gives Dynamite Songs 100% of the US publishing copyrights for key works The Association recorded in the 1960s. It also covers worldwide non-performing rights organization (PRO) songwriter royalties and the writer’s share of public performance income across all compositions. Additionally, the acquisition includes artist royalties from Kirkman’s performances on the group’s sound recordings, as well as neighboring rights income.
“Terry Kirkman wrote songs that have been in the air for sixty years and show no sign of leaving,” said Alan Wallis, CEO of Dynamite Songs. “‘Cherish’ is one of those songs that people across the world think they’ve always known, and that’s no accident. Yet Terry’s talents went far beyond that: a song like ‘Requiem for the Masses’ existed side by side with ‘Cherish,’ also written by Terry and recorded by the same group, within the same creative period. One is among the most tender love songs of the decade; the other is effectively a choral anti-war lament shaped by the shadow of Vietnam. A writer capable of both has a rare gift, and it’s no wonder his songs have stood the test of time.”
The acquisition expands Dynamite’s catalog to 1,700 works, which already includes compositions by Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Avicii, The Black Eyed Peas, Joan Osborne, and Tinie Tempah.
