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United Talent Agency announced on Wednesday that it has acquired London-based Echo Location Talent Agency, expanding its client list to include popular electronic music artists Marshmello and Diplo.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Echo represents hundreds of electronic and hip-hop artists.
Beverly Hills-based UTA on Wednesday initially named more than 20 artists from Echo, including Bugzy Malone and Alesso, who will join its international list “among many.” UTA represents musical artists such as Bad Bunny, the Jonas Brothers and deadmau5.
Echo was founded in 2012 by Obi Asika. Thanks to the acquisition, nearly 10 agents will join UTA. Asika will co-lead UTA’s UK office with UTA’s Neil Warnock.
UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer said Asika is a highly respected leader in the music industry.
“Obi and his team have built an awesome business and have done a great job of taking their artists to the next level,” Zimmer said in a statement. “This acquisition further amplifies our efforts to expand UTA’s presence, and I know that alongside Neil, Obi’s leadership, drive and passion will be a vital addition not only to the UK office, but for UTA in his outfit.
Asika said that over the years her company has been approached by several suitors, adding that “UTA’s strength, ingenuity and genuine commitment to their artists really stood out.
UTA, like other agencies, has acquired companies to increase its presence in the world. In 2018, UTA acquired Circle Talent Agency, a significant step forward in the electronic music space. Other recent acquisitions include influencer management company Digital Brand Architects in 2019. UTA has more than 1,000 employees.
Several agencies are expanding in areas such as sports and music as studios band together and change the way they pay artists.
UTA, along with other agencies, was in a long-standing dispute with the Writers Guild of America, where thousands of writers fired their agents in April 2019. Last year, UTA struck a deal with the union to End the practice of wrapping – when agencies collect a fee from studios for assembling talent after a project is sold – by the end of June 2022.
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