Modern Works Music Publishing was founded in 2004 to administer the works of John Legend and his co-writers. Since then, the roster has evolved to encompass every musical genre, especially those that tend to be underserved by larger music publishing companies, such as jazz, classical, and world music.
Modern Works was created around the simple premise that composers and music catalog owners need a diligent administrator to cultivate, license, and collect royalties for their musical works throughout the world.
Writers signed to large companies often feel lost in the shuffle. But we are a boutique, and we strive to counteract that phenomenon.
With offices in Toronto, Nashville, and Los Angeles— and a worldwide network of hand-picked sub-publishers— Modern Works does business with all the major licensees of music, including record companies, advertising agencies, film and television companies, interactive gaming companies, and digital music retailers. Songs in the Modern Works catalog are used thousands of times each year in these categories.
Highlights of our catalog include the well-loved theme from the Andy Griffith Show, the dystopian 1969 hit “In the Year 2525,” Bootsy Collins’ funk masterpieces “Flashlight” and “I’d Rather Be with You,” Julie Gold’s Grammy-winning Song of the Year “From a Distance,” Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” (co-written and produced by Modern Works’ writer Michael Beinhorn), Jonathan Edwards’ protest classic “Sunshine,” ” Skee-Lo’s Top 10 rap “I Wish,” and the incredible Second Floor Music jazz portfolio, which contains standards such as “Bemsha Swing” by Thelonious Monk & Denzil Best, Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’,” Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” and countless other gems.
In 2023, Modern Works joined the Red Brick Songs family of music publishing catalogs.
Dan Coleman
Co-Founder
Dan Coleman was born in New York City, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania and The Juilliard School. He began his career as a composer, and his original concert music continues to be performed and recorded by leading American orchestras and chamber ensembles. Dan has composed arrangements for popular albums on the Geffen, A&M, and Atlantic record labels, including projects by Lisa Loeb, Calexico, and Joshua Redman, and he has worked as an orchestrator for feature films. In 1999, Dan entered the music publishing business as the administrator for R&B songwriter John Legend’s nascent catalog. Currently Dan works closely with Modern Works’ roster of musical luminaries. He enjoys commenting on music publishing and copyright matters, and has been invited as a guest speaker by BMI, Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Arizona Rogers School of Law.
Bob Donnelly
Co-Founder
Bob Donnelly has been a full-time music lawyer for over 30 years. He has represented artists and their managers who have collectively sold over three hundred million albums. His clients include several members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Jazz Hall of Fame. Donnelly received much of the credit from the New York State Attorney General for settling a case with the major record labels resulting in a payment to artists of $55 million in back-due royalties. Bob is a frequent contributor to Billboard Magazine and other legal and music industry trade journals. He is also a full-time music geek. He has been awarded 40 platinum record plaques and was recently selected for inclusion in 2012 New York Super Lawyers and as one of the 100 most distinguished lawyers in the U.S. of Irish-American descent. Of all his accomplishments, Bob is most proud of building Modern Works into one of the music industry’s premier publishing companies.