Iley signs Black Butter indie

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BLACK BUTTER: In a story posted a week ago, we marveled at the aggressiveness and global impact of U.K. A&R. Sony Music U.K. has been in the thick of the action, even more so in the five months since Jason Iley took charge of the company. In his latest move, reported by Tim Ingham in Music Week, Iley has locked up buzzing British indie Black Butter in a global deal that will see it become a standalone imprint inside the major. Co-founders Henry Village and Joe Gossa have launched the careers of Rudimental, Clean Bandit, Gorgon City and Jess Glynne, among others. Village and Gossa also have a management firm, Stack House, and launched a pubco with the help of Roger Ames, who’s a business partner and mentor to the pair, signing with BMG. They’ll be co-prexies of Black Butter/Sony, reporting directly to Iley, who called it “the most exciting label to have emerged in the last five years.” Nick Worthington, also a partner, will head up the A&R team. (11/20a)