On Thursday (June 5), Avex Music Group announced it has signed Justin Bieber’s longtime backing band and collaborators, We The Band.
We The Band includes Harv (bass), Tay James (DJ), Julian Michael (guitar), Devin “Stixx” Taylor (drums) and O’Neil Palmer (keys). Tay James has worked as Bieber’s longtime A&R and DJ since 2009; Harv joined Bieber’s music team in 2010. In 2021, he and the superstar scored a smash with “Peaches,” which Harv co-wrote and co-produced.
That same year, Harv had signed to Brandon Silverstein’s S10 Publishing, which launched in 2020 as a joint venture with Avex. This May, Avex acquired 100% of the S10 Music Publishing song catalog and announced the launch of Avex Music Group, its U.S. arm (formerly known as Avex USA) with Silverstein as CEO.
Since launching, Avex Music Group has signed producer Elkan (Drake, Rihanna) to a global publishing deal and partnered on his joint-venture publishing company, Toibox by Elkan. We The Band marks Avex Music Group’s first artist signing. As Silverstein said in a Billboard feature on Avex Music Group, the signing cements his theory that “artists are finding talent first.”
We The Band is currently finishing its debut album, which will include “special guest appearances” according to a release. The album is being recorded at Avex Studios in Los Angeles and is due out later this year.
“This has been a dream of ours for many years now,” said We The Band in a statement. “To create our own music that represents who we are as musicians with the support of a global powerhouse like Avex is incredibly exciting for all of us. We can’t wait for our fans to hear what we’ve been working on.”
