Blackheart, the independent entertainment company founded over four decades ago by Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame artists Joan Jett, and her creative partner Kenny Laguna, together with Seeker Music, the songwriter-led music publishing and record company, has announced a groundbreaking partnership. Bringing together the trailblazing work of Blackheart, with Seeker Music‘s innovative approach, the deal will usher in a new era for the iconic JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS‘ catalog.
With a focus on bringing even more firepower to JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS‘ platinum-selling catalog, the Seeker-and-Blackheart partnership marks the next era for one of the most iconic music brands in rock ‘n’ roll. Inclusive of an acquisition of a substantial share of publishing and recorded music rights, the partnership was forged to further amplify Jett‘s music and cement this singular legacy for generations to come. Plans are already in place for putting out never-before-heard music, activations around Jett‘s best-selling global tours, creative re-releases of beloved albums, and much more.
Having left an indelible stamp on rock ‘n’ roll forged by anthemic hits, thousands of live performances around the world, and a tireless belief in staying true to yourself, Joan Jett remains driven by the singular power of music. Picking up her first guitar at thirteen years old and starting a career at fifteen, her unmatched perseverance and authenticity still resonate five decades later. After forming her band THE BLACKHEARTS in 1979 alongside long time songwriting partner, producer and bandmate Kenny Laguna, Jett has become a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee. Jett and Laguna formed a kismet collaboration of menace and pop sensibility when they met, resulting in and eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles including classics “Bad Reputation”, “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll”, “I Hate Myself For Loving You” and “Crimson And Clover”. Three-plus decades after forming THE BLACKHEARTS, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame together.
With a career that has spanned music, film, television, Broadway and humanitarianism, Joan Jett remains a potent force and inspiration to generations of fans worldwide. As a producer, she has overseen seminal albums by BIKINI KILL, and THE GERMS‘ L.A. punk masterpiece “GI”. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS continue to tour the world with headlining shows and alongside fellow rock legends like THE WHO, GREEN DAY, HEART, FOO FIGHTERS, Alanis Morrissette, and this coming summer, Billy Idol. “Bad Reputation”, a documentary about Jett‘s life, premiered to critical acclaim at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Since it was founded in 2020 by M&G Investments, Seeker Music, led by Evan Bogart, has taken a creator-first, creator-led approach to records, rights management, and music publishing. Seeker was recently named No. 2 on Fast Company‘s list of Most Innovative Music Companies 2025.
In a full-circle moment, the new Blackheart–Seeker partnership marks the second generation of two rock and roll family legacies, shaped by decades of friendship, rebellion, and vision — Carianne Brinkman is Kenny Laguna‘s daughter and Jett is her “aunt”, and Evan Bogart is the son of record executive Neil Bogart, who signed Jett and put out “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” on his label, Boardwalk Records.
Carianne Brinkman said: “I’m thrilled we will be working alongside Seeker and Evan Bogart. I can’t imagine a better partnership that is at once completely new but a return to a shared legacy that began with the belief in JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS. Evan and Seeker mirror our ideals in honoring authenticity while facing forward and I’m excited to see what this partnership will bring.”
Evan Bogart added: “Seeker joining forces with Joan, Kenny, Carianne and Blackheart isn’t just a partnership, it’s a personal, powerful reunion. It’s a full circle moment, reigniting a legacy and carrying the torch forward with the same rebellious spirit that ignited it. We’re beyond excited to see where this journey takes us, together!!”
Kenny Laguna summed it up: “It’s too coincidental to be a coincidence, so I am so overwhelmed to see how fate brought Carianne and Evan Bogart at Seeker together 58 years after I had my first hit with Neil Bogart. This partnership is destined to further the accomplishments and legend of Joan Jett and Blackheart, and continue the legacy of Jett, Brinkman, Laguna and Bogart.”
Steven Melrose, Seeker‘s chief creative officer, said: “At Seeker, our celebrated creative and innovative approach to catalog means that our focus is on super-serving Joan‘s current fans, whilst growing her fandom year on year — essentially taking Joan‘s music into millions of new homes globally. For a catalog as expansive and legendary as JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS‘, we’re working on plans to release incredible archival moments, activations around her best-selling global tours, reaching new fans through global and cross-genre campaigns, and creative re-releases of beloved albums utilizing new platforms around the world.”
Following rejections from 23 record labels in the late 1970s, Joan Jett, Kenny Laguna and Meryl Laguna, fellow Blackheart founder and Kenny‘s wife, pressed up their own records and sold them out of the back of Kenny‘s Cadillac at concerts. The indie label Blackheart was born. When the demand was becoming too much for the newly formed DIY label, Laguna then called on his old friend and fellow Bubblegum alumni Neil Bogart (Evan Bogart‘s father) to sign Jett to his label Boardwalk Records. Bogart released the seminal albums “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” and the formerly released “Joan Jett”, renaming it “Bad Reputation”. “I Love Rock N’ Roll” — featuring claps from Neil and Evan‘s mother Joyce — became Jett‘s first number one single, remaining at No. 1 for a record breaking seven weeks. Jett became a household name and sold over a million copies. Sadly, this was the last project of Neil‘s storied career before he passed away.
Carianne Brinkman officially came on board at Blackheart Records in the early 2000s. She had a unique perspective that bridged the past and the present, with a focus on redefining the legacy in a way that could be expanded beyond the music alone.
As Brinkman was making her way in the industry, Neil‘s son Evan, too, was first entering the record business and proving his own knack for artist discovery (he introduced Interscope to Eminem when he was a teenage intern there in the ’90s). Initially, he wanted to separate his own legacy from his father’s, but after writing his first No. 1 song, “SOS” for Rihanna, he decided to embrace the opportunity to write with some of the other artists his dad had worked with, like George Clinton and Donna Summer. Now, as the head of Seeker Music, he’s carrying on his father’s singular approach to the music business: prioritizing artists’ visions, and, as the head of a publishing and record company, making his songwriter and artists’ dreams his own.
When Carianne and Evan broached the subject of growing their family legacies together with Blackheart and Seeker, the goals of the deal became clearly outlined. Both having an artist-first perspective, they knew they wanted to honor the singular legacy, while being forward facing in creating the next chapter in this iconic catalog. Blackheart found a kindred spirit in Seeker, each seeing value in letting the creative lead and adapting, but not altering, to grow into the future. Seeker would bring their infrastructure for creatively working catalogs to Jett and the Blackheart‘s existing music, and they’d continue collaborating on present and future projects to come. Plus, since Seeker is led by a songwriter, they’d do it all with a true music creator’s approach to respecting the value and integrity of the work.
Left to right in photo above: Kenny Laguna; Seeker Music chief creative officer Steven Melrose; Joan Jett; Seeker Music CEO Evan Bogart; Blackheart‘s Carianne Brinkman
Photo credit: Brandon Young
Source: blabbermouth.net
