SYDNEY – October 08, 2019 - Universal Music Publishing Australia today announced the signing of multiplatinum-selling New Zealand group Drax Project to an exclusive publishing deal for Australia and New Zealand.
Deemed "delicious pop with a prodigal feel" by Clash Magazine, Drax Project has seen an astronomical rise to success. Recently, the group teamed up with Academy Award-nominated and multiplatinum-selling artist Hailee Steinfeld for a fresh take on their hit ‘Woke Up Late’. The track is certified triple platinum has over 60 million Spotify streams worldwide and this number is growing daily.
Band members Shaan Singh, Matt Beachen, Ben O’Leary and Sam Thomson went from busking on the streets of Wellington, NZ to playing alongside massive acts such as Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Christina Aguilera and Lorde.
‘Woke Up Late’, which debuted on Billboard’s Pop Songs Chart, was handpicked as Zane Lowe's World Record and was Amazon's “Song Of The Day”. The track won "Single Of The Year" at the 2018 VNZMAs (New Zealand Music Awards), where Drax Project were also awarded "Breakthrough Artist”. Following the newest offerings ‘All This Time’ and ‘Catching Feelings’, Drax Project have just released their self-titled debut album which debuted at #2 on the New Zealand Official Top 40 Album Chart and #1 on the official top 20 NZ albums.
“We've loved working with Universal as our label in Australasia for the last couple years and are stoked to now be part of the UMPG family too! We've pumped our hearts and souls into this album and we're super excited to be teaming with UMPG to find new opportunities for the songs to be heard!” in a joint statement, Drax Project said.
In making the announcement, Arwen Hunt, Vice President, Creative/A&R at UMPG Australia & New Zealand, said: “Drax are an astonishing smorgasbord of talent and it’s a tremendous honour to welcome them into our UMPG family. The well-deserved, global success of 'Woke Up Late' is just the tip of the iceberg for Shaan, Sam, Matt and Ben, and our teams look forward to providing many more creative opportunities in support of their blossoming career.”
Drax Project join UMPG Australia’s roster that includes Alex The Astronaut, Brux, Cloves, Cosmo’s Midnight, Ecca Vandal, Gang of Youths, Guy Sebastian, Holy Holy, Horrorshow, Hopium, Jessica Mauboy, JOY., Lakyn, Lime Cordiale, Maribelle, Michael Fatkin, Milan Ring, M-Phazes, Odette, Olympia, One Above, Thief, Robinson, Ruel, Sons Of The East, The Chats, Timmy Trumpet, Tora, Vera Blue, Woodes and many more.
