Josh Wakely is an Australian director, screenwriter, and producer who owns the rights to the music publishing catalogues of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, as well as

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

’s library of recorded master and publishing catalogues for the purpose of creating film and television projects based on them. Wakely created the Emmy-winning

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original animated series ''

Beat Bugs ''Beat Bugs'' is an animated children's television series, created by Josh Wakely, and produced for Netflix by Grace: A Storytelling Company and Thunderbird Entertainment since 2016. The series is centred around five young anthropomorphised inse ...

'' and the newly released animated series ''

Motown Magic ''Motown Magic'' is an animated children's television series, created by Josh Wakely, and produced for Netflix. The series follows Ben, described by Netflix as "a wide-eyed 8-year-old with a big heart and an amazing imagination", who uses a magic ...

,'' both on Netflix."

Background

Wakely was raised in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, a coastal city two hours north of Sydney on the East Coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He studied acting at Australia's

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

(WAAPA) before transitioning behind the camera and into the world of storytelling. Wakely is a principal partner at Grace: A Storytelling Company, his film and television production company, based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is represented by

William Morris Endeavor Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The compa ...

''Beat Bugs''

Wakely is the creator, director and producer of the children's animated series ''

'', which Netflix premiered globally on August 3, 2016. Australia's

Yahoo7 Yahoo! Australia (formerly Yahoo7 between 2006 and 2018) is the Australian subsidiary of global internet company Yahoo! Originally a 50/50 joint venture between Yahoo! and Seven West Media, it has been a 100% subsidiary of Verizon Media since M ...

premiered the series on July 25, 2016 on 7Two. Netflix globally premiered Season 2 of the show on November 18, 2016. The show now airs on Nick Jr. in Australia. Inspired by music by

, the series tells uplifting and life-affirming stories filled with hope and melody. For the show, Wakely acquired the worldwide rights in a deal with

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

to record covers of the entire Lennon/McCartney ‘

Northern Songs Northern Songs Ltd was a limited company founded in 1963, by Music publisher (popular music), music publisher Dick James, artist manager Brian Epstein, and songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles, to publish songs written by L ...

’ music catalogue. He enlisted featured artists to cover songs in the show who include:

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. H ...

and

Wesley Schultz Wesley Keith Schultz (born December 30, 1982) is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the American folk rock band The Lumineers. Life and career Schultz grew up in Ramsey, New Jersey,The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...

. Wakely's production company, Grace: A Storytelling Company, produced the series with Beyond Screen Production and Thunderbird. The ''Beat Bugs'' soundtrack is a joint release of Wakely's newly formed label Melodia and Universal Music's

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. ''Beat Bugs'' won the 2017

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for Outstanding Writing in a Preschool Animated Program, and has since been nominated for eight Emmys. Awarded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British Columbia, ''Beat Bugs'' won the 2017

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

for Best Animation - Program or Series and was nominated twice in the Best Voice Performance in an Animation Program or Series category. The show was also nominated for Best Animated Program or Series at the 2017

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

and Most Outstanding Children's Program at Australia's TV Week

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

. In addition, the 'Yellow Submarine' episode won the 2016 AWGIE Award in Animation. Awarded by The

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...

, the

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

recognize and reward excellence in performance writing. ''Beat Bugs'' also won the 2016

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The Academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...

(AACTA) award for Best Children's Television Series. ''Beat Bugs'' also inspired a line of merchandise that is exclusively available at Target in the U.S. and Tesco in the U.K.

''Motown Magic''

Wakely is the creator, director and producer of the children's animated series ''

'', which Netflix premiered globally on November 20, 2018. For the series, Wakely secured the rights to the Jobete and Stone Diamond catalogues that comprise hundreds of Motown's greatest hits. Motown singer

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

serves as executive music producer on the animated series. ''Motown Magic'' features newly recorded versions of songs by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, and many more. Each 11-minute episode incorporates a plot line inspired by the themes and characters of a classic Motown song, and an original version of that song covered by contemporary artists including

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition in 2011 when she began posting videos of herself covering popular songs online. One of her videos caught t ...

BJ The Chicago Kid Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top Dawg Entertainm ...

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music ...

Calum Scott Calum Scott (born 12 October 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. In April 2015, he rose to prominence after competing on the ITV talent contest ''Britain's Got Talent'', where he performed his version of Robyn's hit "Dancing on My Own". ...

, and

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

. ''Motown Magic'' is a story about music, magic and the power of imagination, told through the sounds of one of the world's most iconic, and culturally important music catalogues,

. Colorful and family-friendly, this groundbreaking animated series follows Ben, a wide-eyed eight-year-old with a big heart, and an amazing imagination, who uses his magic paintbrush to bring the street-art decorating his city, Motown, to life. Melodia/Motown Records released the ''Motown Magic'' Original Soundtrack, a 13-song collection of classic Motown hits newly recorded for the show, on November 16. In 2019, ''Motown Magic'' was nominated for an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

in the "Outstanding Children's Program" category.

Other TV Projects

Wakely is currently developing multiple television projects based on various other music catalogues for which he has acquired the rights. Wakely secured for Grace the rights to international music icon

’s entire 600-plus song catalogue, and is creating a television drama series based on his music. Building on the popularity of ''Beat Bugs'' and the added success of the Dylan deal, Wakely secured additional groundbreaking deals for Grace, locking in the rights to the Jobete and Stone Diamond catalogues that comprise hundreds of Motown's greatest hits and

’s (UMG) vast collection of recorded master and publishing catalogues to create scripted entertainment based on the characters and themes found within these hallowed songbooks. With extensive access to UMG's illustrious collection of catalogues, Wakely is also currently developing three television series: ''27'', ''Tropical Melody Island,'' and ''Mixtape'' (all working titles), all based on the music found within these catalogues. In 2010, Wakely served as a writer on the acclaimed family series ''Lockie Leonard'', which was nominated for a BAFTA and won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Children's Drama.

Film Projects

Wakely wrote and directed ''My Mind’s Own Melody'', a cinematic modern musical that came out in 2011 and was accepted into the 2013

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...

. The short film featured original music and lyrics by former

Silverchair Silverchair were an Australian Rock music, rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got thei ...

front-man

Daniel Johns Daniel Paul Johns (born 22 April 1979) is an Australian musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the former frontman, guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band Silverchair. Johns is also one half of The Dissociatives with Paul Mac a ...

and stars

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

winner

Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ( ...

. Wakely has optioned the rights to the best-selling memoir '' Half a Life'', which tells the haunting story of one man's 20-year struggle with the accidental death of his high school classmate.

References

External links

*
TEDxSydney - Daniel Johns & Josh Wakely - My Mind's Own Melody

Grace: A Storytelling Company

Beat Bugs

Melodia Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakely, Josh Australian television directors Australian television producers Australian screenwriters Showrunners Australian male television writers Living people People from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian film producers Year of birth missing (living people) Australian television writers