Daniel Johns Inks Global Publishing Deal With BMG

Daniel Johns has signed a landmark global publishing deal with BMG, which includes his solo and the entire Silverchair catalogue.

Since signing the deal, BMG now represents Johns for publishing and releasing albums following the release of his 2022 #1 album FutureNever. As of 2025, the contract will include all of Johns’s compositions on his recent solo album and hits like Straight Lines, Freak, Ana’s Song, Tomorrow and many more.

Johns’s new deal with BMG continues his relationship with the music company, which is headed by his brother, Heath Johns, who was instrumental in the FutureNever campaign.

In 2021, BMG conceptualised and executive produced the Spotify podcast Who Is Daniel Johns? and supported the release of FutureNever by developing the ground-breaking and award-winning Past, Present And FutureNever exhibition in Melbourne’s Rialto building. Next year, young Aussie actor Rasmus King will star as a young Daniel Johns in the “grunge sci-fi” film What If The Future Never Happened?

“There is nothing without a heartbeat that I value more than my songwriting catalogue. Bringing my life’s work as a composer to BMG signifies the level of faith I have in this company and their people,” Johns stated in a press release.

“From the podcast to the album, the exhibition and forthcoming featurette film, BMG have proven themselves to be the most ambitious and revolutionary music company in the game. From my compositions on Frogstomp to FutureNever and everything in between, my songs belong at BMG. I’m truly grateful to be in a position to sign the most important deal of my career with them.”

Jodie Feld, the Senior Creative Director for BMG Australia & New Zealand, added, “Daniel is the most ARIA-awarded artist of all time, a Grammy and Emmy-winning composer, and has won the APRA Songwriter of the Year award a record three times. He has written global hits for multiple projects across four decades, and with FutureNever, he broke every ARIA sales record of 2022.”

Field continued, “Daniel is a true multi-talent and musical icon. It’s an honour for the whole BMG team to expand our relationship with Daniel and to have the opportunity to work across not just a record but a podcast, film, exhibition and now his iconic publishing catalogue.”

Johns joins the company of Australian and international bands, solo artists and songwriters, including Jet, Crowded House, Wolfmother, Alison Wonderland, George Harrison & Ringo Starr, David Bowie, Blondie, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, Andre 3000, FKA Twigs, Lewis Capaldi, and more.