Sheffield artist Sam Scherdel signs global record deal after breakthrough single gains virality

A rising Yorkshire musician has signed a global record deal four years after losing his day job. 

Sam Scherdel, a singer-songwriter from Sheffield, has signed with international music company Create Music Group, with its UK label Ostereo and the US-based Broke Records. 

After losing his job in 2022, Sam decided to give his all to his music. His breakthrough single “Somewhere in the Middle” went viral online, receiving one million views on TikTok in the first four days.

Sam’s career was boosted further when his music, which explores honest themes of lived experience, love and loss, was played on ITV’s Love Island and pushed his songs to international audiences. 

The recent signing, which has taken place just prior to the release of the first music of this new chapter, will provide a global platform for artist development, marketing and distribution. 

Sam said: “After my songwriting career properly began in 2022, looking back and seeing how far this has come is pretty unbelievable. 

“My goal has always been to write honest music and make that the focus of my life. Since bringing LAMA on board earlier this year and working closely with the management team, it became clear the music needed the right people around it to help deliver that vision.

“I’m delighted that journey has led us to Broke and Ostereo. They believed in the music from the very beginning, and I genuinely feel we’ve found the right home for these songs."

His management says the signing works well as part of an emerging strand of “Redemption Music” in the US. Emotional and genuine songs are rising in the charts, with artists such as Noah Kahan and Jeff Buckley taking the lead. Listeners enjoy the sense that the experiences described have actually been lived.

David Cameron-Pryde, Artist Manager at LAMA Music Group, said: “Sam’s music has already aptly taken our LAMA - LA / Manchester Alliance - partnership across the Atlantic to California for meetings with various US labels and A&R managers, and then by chance back to Manchester, where the Ostereo label originally started in Media City.

“Of the numerous labels we spoke to, we found that Andy and Danny at Ostereo had a passion for Sam’s truth-driven writing that was second to none. Partnered with Andre and the Broke Records team’s digital marketing prowess, it’s going to be an exciting ride to see where this UK/US label alliance can take a hidden gem from Yorkshire.”

To support Sam in his first chapter of this global partnership, check out his social media pages (@samscherdel) and listen to Kyoto Snow, out now.