Catalog
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Reach Music has acquired master and publishing rights to Judas Priest‘s first two records, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny from Gull Entertainments. As part of their new purchase, Reach will work alongside the British metal legends to release a 50th anniversary edition of Rocka Rolla in 2024 as well as other special projects. This deal builds upon Reach’s existing relationship with the band — in 2021, Reach acquired a 50% copyright interest and the administration rights to guitarist Glenn Tipton’s song catalog, beginning with songs released in 1977.
Reservoir has launched a joint venture with American Idol producer, 19 Entertainment, which is part of Sony Pictures Television and already partnered with BMG on the master side. Through their new jv, the two will jointly sign new publishing deals with some of Idol’s contestants, and Reservoir will aid in the young writers’ development.
Peermusic Australia has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Sydney-based hip-hop/rock crossover group Triple One. The agreement includes both Triple One’s full back catalog as well as future works.
Position Music has signed artist and songwriter Sam Tinnesz to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes some selected catalog cuts as well as all of Tinnesz future releases, including those made under his artist project and those made as a songwriter.
Prescription Songs has signed Nashville-based artist and writer Josie Dunne. As an artist she played alongside artists like Julia Michaels, COIN, Ben Rector, and Andy Grammer. As a writer, she’s create songs with Natalie Imbruglia, Corook, Spencer Sutherland, and more. She was brought into the roster by A&R Chris Martingnago.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a global publishing deal with country sibling trio Voth. The deal was signed just ahead of their next single “You Own It,” out April 28th.
Independent dance music label Armada Music said on Thursday it acquired the master recording rights of Detroit techno forefather Kevin Saunderson‘s KMS Records and Russian DJ ARTY to launch its new music investment fund focused on dance music.
The fund named BEAT–which stands for Best Ever Acquired Tracks–launches with $100 million in debt and financing from Pinnacle Financial Partners, which Armada says will be deployed over the next two years.
Launching into the redhot music IP investment market, Armada’s BEAT aims to capitalize on investments in a genre that has so far gotten less attention than others, like pop and classic rock.
A growing number of funds have launched in the past 18-months focused on genres like indie, Latin music and production music, aiming to use in-house expertise on a specific genre to find ways to make catalogs generate greater returns for the artists and rights holders.
“BEAT is in a unique position to add relevance to those tracks through creative additions, best practices in exploitation setup, and marketing methods and communication channels within the bigger (Armada) organization,” says Armada Music chief executive Maykel Piron.
BEAT says it is focused on acquiring catalogs that fall under the category of dance, including subgenres like techno, house, electronic dance music (EDM) and others. EDM alone is estimated to present a $9.5 billion market opportunity, growing to more than $20 billion in the next decade, according to a report by research firm Future Market Insights.
“We are seeing folks who are trying to be smarter, and one way to do that is to arbitrage certain genres,” says Matt Rosenberg, head of media finance at Monroe Capital. “It unlocks the investment ecosystem for more artists.”
Attached to Armada, BEAT will tap into the genre’s leading record label for “data on trends, creative resources, exploitation models (and) new artists,” Piron says.
“We are in a unique position in that we know everything on older catalogs since we have built one over the last 20 years through Armada,” Piron says. Armada has acquired catalogs from artists and dance labels, including Midtown Records, United Recordings and Combined Forces. “BEAT has 100% control over the exploitation and re-exploitation of the acquired catalogs.”
Saunderson made his name with a string of eight Top 10s between 1988-94, including “Good Life,” “Big Fun,” “Ain’t Nobody Better” and “Do You Love What You Feel” and others. The catalog of KMS, which Saunderson helped found over 30 years ago, includes Saunderson’s “Good Life” and “Big Fun,” recorded with Inner City.
“In the post-COVID period, we are seeing a huge revival of 90’s dance. Sometimes younger audiences don’t even realize they are dancing to 30-year-old tracks,” Piron says.
With a catalog of newer hits, ARTY is known for dance tracks “Sunrise,” “Save Me Tonight,” “Craving” and “Take Your Time” from between 2018 and 2021. Based in Los Angeles, ARTY has also produced and remixed songs for Skrillex, Armin van Buuren, Halsey and others.
When it comes to the red-hot market for music rights, the only people who may be more important than the buyers and sellers are number crunchers like Nari Matsuura.
The Ottawa, Ontario, native is the partner of Barry Massarsky and founder of the valuation division of their music economics and valuation services practice at Citrin Cooperman, one of just a handful of firms that calculate the future growth rates and discounts essential to determining a music catalog’s market value.
From 2021 to 2022, Matsuura estimates she oversaw 750 catalog valuations totaling $15.5 billion for such clients as Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Primary Wave and Reservoir Media.
But as billions have flooded the music intellectual property market, the practice of valuing catalogs has encountered unexpected controversy, with Massarsky and Matsuura’s team occasionally in the middle. Banks put considerable weight on catalog valuations when determining how much to lend to a buyer, and some question whether Citrin Cooperman’s discount rate — which has not budged since spring 2022 — ignores macroeconomic pressures, such as the rising cost to borrow, that could affect valuations. Lower valuations could lead banks to decrease the amounts they lend overall, which could have a cooling effect on the market. “The reason we did not increase our discount rate along with the rising interest rate environment is because we had originally started at a higher discount rate so that we could accommodate for that rise,” Matsuura says. “We knew that this low interest rate environment was not sustainable in the long term.”
Producer, songwriter and artist Metro Boomin – a.k.a. Leland Tyler Wayne – has sold a portion of his entire existing publishing catalog to Shamrock Capital for close to $70 million, sources close to the deal tell Billboard.
News of the sale arrives on the heels of his second album HEROES & VILLAINS, which was released on Dec. 2, 2022. The record was peppered with some of the biggest names in music, including features from Young Thug, Travis Scott, Future, Don Toliver, Chris Brown, A$AP Rocky, Gunna, and late Migos member Takeoff. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making it his second album in a row to hit No. 1 as an artist.
As one of rap and R&B’s most defining creatives, Metro Boomin has helped craft hits like “Bad and Boujee” by Migos, “Mask Off” by Future, “Congratulations” by Post Malone, “Bank Account” by 21 Savage, “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1” by Kanye West, “Jumpman” by Drake and Future, “Heartless” by The Weeknd, “Waves” by Kanye West, “Child’s Play” by Drake, “Tuesday” by iLoveMakonnen, and many more.
The multi-hyphenate musician has had 99 total entries on the Hot 100 chart as a producer, including two No. 1s and 10 top 10s. As an artist, Metro Boomin has 46 total entries on the Hot 100. He has spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on the Rap Producers chart and three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 Producers and Hot 100 Songwriters charts.
Representatives for Shamrock did not return Billboard’s requests for comment. A representative for Metro Boomin declined to comment.
Shamrock was founded in 1978 as Roy E. Disney’s family office and has since become an active, powerful buyer in the music catalog investment space. It’s most notable investment being that of Taylor Swift’s Big Machine catalog which the firm bought from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2020. In 2021, Shamrock expanded into the lending space with a $196 million debt fund to loan money to IP owners in entertainment.
Last month, on Feb. 2, 2023, Shamrock Capital announced that it raised $600 million in a new fund (Shamrock Capital Content Fund III) aimed at acquiring film, TV, music video games, and sports rights.
Metro Boomin’s deal, along with other recent hip-hop acquisitions — like Juice WRLD’s sale to Opus Music Group for a nine figure sum, Dr. Dre’s Shamrock and UMG deal for an estimated over $200 million, and Future’s publishing catalog sale to Influence Media Partners between $65-75 million — have proved that the genre is fueling new investor interest.
Those who have been skeptical of rap catalog sales often point to the genre’s short history, which may indicate sharper — or still unknown — decay curves from other genres like rock and pop. Decay curves, which are based on past performance of other songs in the genre, refer to when the song levels out into a predictable state of income generation.
But the 50th anniversary of hip-hop special at the 2023 Grammy awards and its continued dominance on streaming platforms may reveal that rap is ready to become another sought-after genre for buyers.
“There are certain names that have been around for a long enough period that they are now of an evergreen standard,” City National entertainment banking leader Denise Colletta recently told Billboard. “Those household names in hip-hop will continue to resonate with audiences.”
Reservoir Media said Wednesday it acquired the publishing and recorded rights to the catalog of jazz living legend Sonny Rollins — aka “The Saxophone Colossus.”
A recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Grammys, Rollins is perhaps best known for his 1956 album Saxophone Colossus and its track, “St. Thomas,” which has been deemed “culturally, historically…significant” by the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
A regular collaborator of other jazz giants Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, Rollins continued to release music, including his 2001 Grammy-winning album This is What I Do and 2006 Grammy-winning solo “Why Was I Born?”
“I’m happy that Reservoir will be helping to maintain my musical legacy, which was created in concert with so many great musicians I’m proud to be associated with,” Rollins said in a statement announcing the acquisition.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, with Reservoir adding that it includes a “mix of rights across Sonny’s entire catalog.”
Rollins catalog is a body of work spanning more than 70 years of “musical innovation,” Rell Lafargue, Reservoir president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.
“I first learned of Sonny through his music, playing ‘St. Thomas’ as a young jazz student, and it’s incredibly meaningful that Reservoir and I can now commit to preserving Sonny’s musical legacy and amplifying his contributions to the artform for audiences old and new,” Lafargue said.
Seeker Music has signed Australian-born songwriter, producer, DJ, and artist Kito to a publishing agreement. Known for her collaborations with artists like FLETCHER, Empress Of, Jorja Smith and more, Kito’s deal is one of the company’s first frontline signings.
Kito first became known as a DJ at the start of the 2010s, remixing songs like Beyonce’s “Run the World,” Saweetie and Doja Cat’s “Best Friend,” and MARINA’s “Venus Fly Trap.” Later on, as she developed her writing and production skills, Kito earned cuts with Mabel, BANKS, Tinashé and Jorja Smith and released her own EP Blossom, featuring Jeremih, ZHU and Terror Jr.
Seeker Music was founded in 2020 and quietly amassed a catalog of music IP over the next two years, including hits recorded by Run the Jewels, Christopher Cross, Ginuwine and more. The company is administered by Downtown and funded by London-based private equity firm M&G.
Seeker Music founder and CEO, Evan Bogart, told Billboard in a previous interview that his aim was always to become a multi-hyphenate music company, developing current songwriters and artists as well as building up a robust back catalog of songs, however, the company’s frontline efforts were hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I invest with my heart before money,” the executive explained, adding that meeting talent over Zoom made it difficult to foster camaraderie with potential signees. Now that in-person meetings and writing sessions have resumed, Seeker has bolstered its frontline business, signing acts like Kito as well as Sofía Valdés (Warner Records), Katie Pearlman (Kelly Clarkson, Grace Potter, Sabrina Carpenter), Sweetsound (Jesse Baez, Snoop Dogg, Natanael Cano), and MNDR.
Kito noted that she opted to sign with Seeker for its “quality over quantity” approach to its roster and that Bogart is a songwriter himself. Best known for penning hits like “SOS” by Rihanna and “Halo” by Beyonce, Kito says of Bogart “I trust Evan because he understands what it’s like to write a song and bring it into the world. He’s also built himself as a songwriter ‘business,’ and worked with, and mentored, some of the greatest writers in the world. The whole team at Seeker really ‘gets’ the creative process and what’s important to music creators. I’m excited for this next chapter together and everything we’re cooking up for 2023 and beyond.”
Bogart says of the deal, “everyone wanted to sign Kito and I couldn’t be prouder that she chose Seeker to be her family. She’s insanely talented and she’s going to dominate music, and the music business, in the years to come.”
Hipgnosis Song Management announced a deal on Tuesday that gives Beatclub producers access to some of Hipgnosis’ iconic hit songs and boosts its own access to more synch opportunities, the companies said in a joint statement.
Launched in 2021 by four-time Grammy winner Timbaland and his longtime manager, the head of Mono Music Group Gary Marella, Beatclub is an online marketplace built to help creators and producers monetize their beats and music.
Beatclub users can already use beats by Timbaland and others, like Justin Timberlake, Tainy, J. Cole and Mike Dean, in their own mixes. Hipgnosis, which also invested in Beatclub’s recent series A-2 funding round, will now also offer a hand-picked collection of songs from its catalog approved for sampling by Beatclub’s elite tier of producers. Any other rights that artists need to have cleared for usage are handled by Beatclub’s licensing team.
The deal could also help place more of Hipgnosis’ songs in films, TV, ads and games because Beatclub’s portal helps connect artists on its platform to synch opportunities with major brand, label, gaming and production companies. Similar strategies have been deployed by other catalog companies, like Primary Wave.
Timbaland has worked with Hipgnosis and its founder Merck Mercuriadis before, having sold his catalog to the music investment in 2019.
“At a time when interpolation and sampling has never been a more important part of creation and success, I want the greatest creators in the world to have access to our incomparable songs to make them the hits not only of the past but the future,” Mercuriadis, founder and head of Hipgnosis Song Management, said in a statement.
Calling Mercuriadis a “disruptor,” Timbaland said Mercuriadis’ “vision of the future of the music creator economy aligns closely with Beatclub’s.”
Marella, Beatclub’s co-founder, said Hipgnosis’ mission to promote songwriters and producers’ rights aligns with Beatclub’s values. “Beatclub … was built for creators by creators,” Marella said in a statement. “Our mission has always been to empower artists, song writers and producers however we can.”
MusicBird AG, a Swiss-based music rights investment firm, has signed a term loan facility with a capacity up to $100 million with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). With publishing rights from hitmaker J.R. Rotem (Rihanna, Jason Derulo, Fall Out Boy) and master income and publishing rights from Shaggy already part of their acquired catalog, the firm is hoping to invest even further in music.
Founded in 2020, MusicBird began acquiring music rights in 2021. The company is focused on becoming a “boutique house of hits,” as described in their announcement, with a highly selective portfolio of “evergreen” songs. The firm notes it is open to all types of genres and regions when considering new catalogs and hopes to harness technology to help grow music revenue.
In addition to this new push into growing their catalog, MusicBird also recently appointed a new CEO, Paul Brown — who previously served as vp global content and platforms for HTC and svp strategic partnerships at Spotify — as well as a new CFO, Roger Howl — who previously worked as senior vp of finance at Hipgnosis Songs Fund.
This announcement comes shortly after a number of key catalog deals have been announced, including Opus Music Group’s 9-figure acquisition of Juice WRLD’s catalog and Hipgnosis’ acquisitions of parts of Tobias Jesso Jr. and Justin Bieber’s catalogs. Meanwhile, Variety is reporting a possible upcoming sale for Michael Jackson’s estate. Though last year some were predicting a slowdown in the catalog market, it appears there are still many players continuing to invest in music IP, despite an economic downturn, rising interest rates and other extenuating circumstances affecting the global economy.
Tony Beaudoin, managing director of entertainment finance at MUFG says: “MUFG is thrilled to lead the senior debt facility for MusicBird, which will allow the company to expand its catalog acquisition initiative of valued music rights. Paul and Roger bring trusted experience in the music space to the company and MUFG is confident in their ability to grow MusicBird’s IP library.”
Hipgnosis Songs Management has purchased 100% interest in publishing copyrights to 217 songs in the catalog of TMS, the British songwriting and production trio.
This latest acquisition includes the trio’s publishing copyrights, producer royalty streams, and neighboring rights, including “Someone You Loved” and “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi and “Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself” by Jess Glynne.
Comprised of Tom “Froe” Barnes, Benjamin Kohn, and Peter “Merf” Kelleher, TMS has already sold the copyrights of 121 of their other songs to Hipgnosis in the past, including songs recorded by G-Eazy, Sigma and Emeli Sandé. The writers’ share of ownership and royalties of the previous 121 songs is also included in the latest acquisition.
“Someone You Loved” has achieved 7-times platinum status in the U.K. since its release in 2018 and is touted as the U.K.’s most played song of all time on Spotify. Worldwide, it ranks as the fourth most streamed with 2.6 billion and counting. “Someone You Loved” was written by Lewis Capaldi, Samuel Roman, and the TMS trio, meaning Hipgnosis now controls three out of five writers’ shares of publishing. TMS also produced the track.
Hipgnosis Songs Management, the entity managing the publicly traded company’s catalog, acquired these songs on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, an investment vehicle established by Hipgnosis and Blackstone. The world’s largest alternative asset manager, Blackstone pledged $1 billion to further investment in music IP with Hipgnosis and also took a majority stake.
TMS has also worked with Dua Lipa, John Legend, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, Lily Allen and Bebe Rexha, One Direction, Cher, Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Lily Allen, Labrinth, JLS, Years & Years, Oily Murs, Ella Henderson, Birdy, Jem & The Holograms, Sinead Harnett, Kwabs and Dot Rotten.
It is not clear which, if any, of these artists’ songs are included in this deal. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
TMS were represented by Paul Centellas at North Pole Management and Sonia Diwan at Sound Advice.
“Froe, Ben, Merf and their manager Paul Centellas have been an important part of the Hipgnosis family for many years now so it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to continue our relationship with this new acquisition including what will undoubtedly be a contender for song of the decade with Lewis Capaldi’s iconic ‘Someone You Loved,’” says Merck Mercuriadis, CEO and founder of Hipgnosis Song Management.
Barnes, Kohn and Kelleher (TMS) jointly add, We’re incredibly proud of this body of work and know Merck and the family at Hipgnosis will be excellent custodians of these copyrights in future. It’s incredible to see what they’ve built in just a few short years and we know they’ll continue to represent these songs with passion and commitment.”
“Nobody is doing more to elevate the standing and value of the songwriter than Merck and the team at Hipgnosis,” says Centellas, managing director, North Pole Management. “We’re very happy to entrust them with these incredible copyrights and look forward to working with them across various initiatives to ensure the songwriter is properly valued and remunerated in future. Without songwriters, there is no music business.”
Reservoir Media has purchased the catalog of Bronx-born talent Dion Francis DiMucci, better known as Dion. The deal includes his publishing catalog and future works as well as synchronization rights to his master recordings.
Best known for releasing defining, R&B-infused rock in the 1950s and ’60s, Dion’s catalog includes “Runaround Sue,” “The Wanderer,” “Ruby Baby” and “Dream Lover,” which he released with his band Dion and the Belmonts. Over the course of his career, he has accrued 11 top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.
Despite his many decades of success, Dion continues to tour and release music today. In 2021, he released the album Stomping Ground featuring Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Bruce Springsteen, Mark Knopfler and more.
Dion’s songs have continued to permeate pop culture, particularly via their placement in films and TV shows, including Diner, Peggy Sue Got Married, Little Big League, The Sopranos, Behind Enemy Lines, The West Wing, The Wire and Ozark. Additionally, his life and songbook inspired the creation of The Wanderer, a musical that had a successful pre-Broadway run at Paper Mill Playhouse in April 2022.
“I am most pleased to enter into this great new relationship with Reservoir,” Dion said in a statement. “I know how much the Reservoir team appreciates my work, and I am looking forward to some exciting times ahead with them. I want to thank the entire Reservoir team for helping to make it happen, particularly Rell Lafargue, Jonathan Sturges and Faith Newman. I also want to thank Marvin Katz, my attorney, who introduced me to Reservoir and represented me in the transaction.”
Reservoir’s executive vp of A&R and catalog development, Faith Newman, added, “Dion is a pillar of early rock and roll music and wrote and recorded songs that are universally loved and recognized. He continues to make music with and inspire the genre’s biggest names today. It’s an honor to support both his evergreen catalog and future hits.”