Takeover/Cloud 9

Takeover/Cloud 9 is a British music publishing company associated with Takeover Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing. It was established in December 2008 through a joint venture involving English rapper Kwasi Danquah III, better known as Tinchy Stryder, and Guy Moot, who at the time held senior UK and European creative roles at EMI Music Publishing. The venture was initially created as a publishing vehicle dedicated to Danquah's music, giving his recordings and songwriting activity an organized publishing structure with international reach. The company expanded its remit during 2009. Rather than remaining solely a vehicle for Danquah's own compositions, Takeover/Cloud 9 became the publishing arm for musicians and record producers working with Takeover Entertainment. This placed the company within a broader artist-development and rights-management operation, linking music publishing with Takeover's recording and entertainment activities. Its publicly referenced repertoire included material connected with Tinchy Stryder releases such as the certified Gold album Catch 22 and singles including "Take Me Back," "Never Leave You," and the N-Dubz collaboration "Number 1." These examples illustrate the company's role in administering or representing publishing interests connected with commercially successful UK urban and pop releases of the period. In June 2010, Takeover Entertainment entered a joint venture with Jay-Z's Roc Nation to establish Takeover Roc Nation, described as a European record label and entertainment company. Following that transaction, Takeover/Cloud 9 also served as the music-publishing arm for Takeover Roc Nation. The relationship broadened the company's association from Takeover's original artist network to a larger transatlantic entertainment partnership, although the available reference material does not provide detailed information about the venture's later operations, catalog size, staffing, financial performance, or present-day corporate status. The brand is therefore best understood as a rights and publishing enterprise rather than a consumer-facing record label. Its activities centered on the exploitation and administration of musical compositions for artists, songwriters, and producers connected with Takeover Entertainment and, later, Takeover Roc Nation. Publicly available information identifies its creation, early catalog role, and relationship with the two parent or partner organizations, but does not establish a current website, headquarters beyond its British identity, independent listed status, or whether it remains operational under the same structure.

Takeover/Cloud 9 was formed in December 2008 as a music-publishing joint venture connected to Takeover Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing. Its creation followed an agreement between Kwasi Danquah III, the English rapper known professionally as Tinchy Stryder, and Guy Moot, then a senior EMI Music Publishing executive in the UK and Europe. The original concept was narrow: the company was designed as a publishing arm for Danquah's own music, with a global orientation supplied by the EMI relationship. During 2009, the business developed beyond that original artist-specific purpose. Takeover/Cloud 9 became the publishing arm for musicians and record producers associated with Takeover Entertainment. This expansion made it part of a wider entertainment structure rather than simply a personal publishing company. Its publicly identified repertoire included songs from Tinchy Stryder's certified Gold studio album Catch 22, including "Take Me Back" and "Never Leave You," as well as the N-Dubz collaboration "Number 1." The available account does not provide a complete catalog or explain the precise contractual division of rights for each title, but these releases demonstrate the company's connection to Takeover's commercial recording activity. A further structural change came in June 2010, when Takeover Entertainment entered a joint venture with Jay-Z's Roc Nation. The resulting company, Takeover Roc Nation, was intended to operate as a European record label and entertainment company. Takeover/Cloud 9 became the music-publishing arm supporting that new venture, extending its role into a transatlantic partnership and associating it with Roc Nation's European ambitions. The reference material does not document later leadership, ownership changes, catalog transactions, financial results, a current website, or the company's present operating status. Accordingly, its history is clearest through the formation, 2009 expansion, and 2010 Takeover Roc Nation affiliation. The company is categorized here as a music-industry corporate brand focused on publishing and rights administration, while the exact status of the entity after the documented 2010 period remains unconfirmed.

• 2010

  Takeover Roc Nation partnership

  [1]Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org

  Following Takeover Entertainment's joint venture with Roc Nation, Takeover/Cloud 9 also becomes the publishing arm for Takeover Roc Nation.

• 2009

  Publishing remit expands

  [1]Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org

  The company becomes the publishing arm for musicians and record producers associated with Takeover Entertainment.

• 2008

  Takeover/Cloud 9 is founded

  [1]Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org

  Kwasi Danquah III and Guy Moot establish Takeover/Cloud 9 through a joint venture between Takeover Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing, initially to publish Danquah's music.

A UK-based music publishing platform linking Takeover Entertainment's artist and producer activities with EMI Music Publishing, and later supporting the European Takeover Roc Nation venture.

• Music publishing · 2008

  Music publishing catalog

  The company's central offering was the administration and commercial exploitation of musical compositions associated first with Tinchy Stryder and later with musicians and record producers connected with Takeover Entertainment. The catalog publicly referenced in the available account includes material linked to Catch 22 and several commercially successful singles.

• Music publishing · 2010

  Takeover Roc Nation publishing services

  After the 2010 Takeover Entertainment–Roc Nation joint venture, Takeover/Cloud 9 served as the music-publishing arm for Takeover Roc Nation. The available sources do not specify the complete repertoire or the duration of this arrangement.

• 2010

  Support the Takeover Roc Nation joint ventureM&A

  Background

  Takeover Entertainment entered a joint venture with Roc Nation to establish a European record label and entertainment company.

  Action taken

  Takeover/Cloud 9 became the publishing arm for Takeover Roc Nation.

  Aftermath

  The publishing company became associated with the new European Takeover Roc Nation structure.

  Source

• 2009

  Expand beyond a single-artist publishing vehicleStrategy

  Background

  The company's initial focus on Danquah's music was expanded as Takeover Entertainment developed a wider artist and producer operation.

  Action taken

  Takeover/Cloud 9 became the publishing arm for Takeover Entertainment's musicians and record producers.

  Aftermath

  Its role covered publishing connected with a broader set of Takeover releases and collaborators.

  Source

• 2008

  Create a dedicated publishing venture for Danquah's musicStrategy

  Background

  Takeover Entertainment and EMI Music Publishing sought to create a global publishing structure for music by Kwasi Danquah III.

  Action taken

  They established Takeover/Cloud 9 as a joint publishing company.

  Aftermath

  The company subsequently broadened its remit to cover Takeover Entertainment musicians and producers.

  Source

• 2010

  Takeover Entertainment forms Takeover Roc Nation[1]Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Takeover Entertainment entered a joint venture with Jay-Z's Roc Nation to create a European record label and entertainment company; Takeover/Cloud 9 consequently became its publishing arm.

• 2009

  Takeover/Cloud 9 expands to Takeover Entertainment's artists and producers[1]Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company became the publishing arm for musicians and record producers associated with Takeover Entertainment, with a catalog connection to releases by Tinchy Stryder and collaborators.

• 2008

  Takeover/Cloud 9 is established through an EMI publishing joint venture[1]Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Other

  Kwasi Danquah III and EMI Music Publishing executive Guy Moot established Takeover/Cloud 9 as a global publishing company initially focused on Danquah's music.

1. 1Takeover/Cloud 9en.wikipedia.org