Have you been waiting for the next Noga Erez? A joint venture signed in October by Sony Music Entertainment and the Canadian-Israeli musician management company and record label ONEWAY. may soon bring you what you crave.
“It's just an incredibly exciting opportunity for Israelis because we believe there's just so much talent that has been underrepresented and overlooked [in Israel] for so many years. We're hoping to change that.”
Josh Fluxgold, founder and president of ONEWAY.
The project, which will mark Sony’s first venture into the Israeli music market, aims to develop and break artists from Israel with international appeal, allowing for more stars from the start-up nation to go forth and prosper, spreading their musical ideas throughout the global mainstream music scene like the proverbial Johnny Falafelseed.
“It's just an incredibly exciting opportunity for Israelis because we believe there's just so much talent that has been underrepresented and overlooked [in Israel] for so many years. We're hoping to change that,” said Josh Fluxgold, founder and president of ONEWAY.
The Fluxgold brothers
Fluxgold founded the record label with his brother, fellow music executive Sam Fluxgold. The Canadian duo formerly discovered and managed Dennis Lloyd, an Israeli singer and songwriter who enjoyed historic international success for an Israeli artist following his breakout in 2017. Drawing on that prior success, ONEWAY. hopes to give more Israeli musicians center stage in the very near future.
Sam explained that, before Lloyd, “There had never been an Israeli artist up to that point who had had significant success internationally. This was the first time we had ever seen this happen.”
After working with Dennis Lloyd for four years, the Fluxgolds realized the potential goldmine of raw talent that existed within Israel that was yet untapped by the global music industry. “We said to ourselves, ‘this might be an opportunity to go and find other Israeli artists who have similar aspirations: that are not necessarily focused on singing in Hebrew, domestically within Israel but rather trying to break internationally.’ So we looked at our partners at Sony who we had signed Dennis to previously and we said this would be a great opportunity to work together and look for Israeli talent,” Sam said.
Wanted: English-speaking singers
The Fluxgolds explained that they’re seeking English-singing performers who have gained significant traction in the Israeli scene — but aside from those criteria, “it all comes back to that gut feeling, and that's the core: we’ve got to love the music. We've got to believe in the artist's vision,” said Josh.
For Josh, opening up the gateway between the small pond of Israel’s music industry and the ocean of the international music market is a big deal and one that he takes pride in.
“We're very excited to see not only Sony but other major music companies start focusing their attention on the market. They’re finally understanding that there is so much potential here,” Josh said. “We want to give a voice to the people that haven't had a voice for so long through the arts and culture, and that's the way that we're recognizing and looking at Israel.”