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HarbourView Equity Partners and Grammy Award-winning artist and producer Hit-Boy have joined forces in an exclusive partnership. Following the conclusion of Hit-Boy’s 18-year publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, the new alliance finds HarbourView collaborating on forthcoming titles written by Hit-Boy. Transaction terms were not disclosed.
In announcing the news, HarbourView founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke stated, “At HarbourView, we are committed to investing in the creators who shape culture and are actively moving it forward. Hit-Boy’s work has defined a generation of music, blending innovation with impact in a way few others have. We’re honored to partner with him and proud to help preserve, celebrate and continue his extraordinary legacy.”
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“This next chapter of my career is about ownership, being innovative and my creative freedom,” added Hit-Boy. “HarbourView will be a forward-thinking partner and that is exactly what I want when making decisions about my catalog and my future.”
Hit-Boy’s extensive catalog, amassed over nearly 20 years, encompasses collaborations ranging from Kendrick Lamar and Nicki Minaj to Ariana Grande and Doechii. Among the producer’s biggest hits are Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “N***as In Paris,” Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” with Drake, Beyoncé’s “Flawless” and the late Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle.”
Three-time Grammy winner Hit-Boy also executive produced Nas’ Grammy-winning King’s Disease as well as the rap icon’s Magic Trilogy. His two other Grammy wins were for best rap song (“N***as In Paris”) and best rap performance (for his guest feature alongside Roddy Ricch on Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle”).
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As an artist, Hit-Boy’s most recent album is Goldfish with fellow producer The Alchemist. The project is complemented by a short film directed by Abteen Bagheri and executive produced by Hit-Boy, who also stars in the short with The Alchemist. Others featured in the film include Danny Trejo, Rory Culkin and rappers Big Hit, Conway the Machine and Lefty Gunplay.
HarbourView Equity Partners was established in 2021. Specializing in the sports, media and entertainment arenas, the investment firm’s music portfolio includes artists and producers such as Kelly Clarkson, T-Pain, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Luis Fonsi, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Wiz Khalifa and Kane Brown, among others.
Music rights and media investment company HarbourView Equity Partners raised $500 million through the sale of a private asset-backed securitization (ABS), backed by royalties generated from its music catalog, to insurance vehicles managed by global investment firm KKR, HarbourView announced on Monday (June 9). The news comes a little more than a year after HarbourView […]
HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired part of Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins‘ royalty catalog, the Newark, N.J.-based entertainment company said on Thursday (May 29). The deal was facilitated by Chapter Two, a Stockholm-based tech company that gathers royalty data for catalog buyers and sellers to forecast future income and speed up the due diligence […]
HarbourView Equity Partners is buying Grammy award-winning rapper-producer T-Pain‘s publishing catalog and certain master recording rights, the company announced on Thursday (Feb. 20). The Tallahassee, Fla.-born artist known for late-2000s party music hits like “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” “Bartender (featuring Akon)” and “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper) (featuring Mike Jones),” has been […]
HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired the master royalty income of renowned jazz guitarist, singer-songwriter and 10-time Grammy Award winner George Benson. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In the press release announcing the transaction, HarbourView Equity Partners founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares said, “We maintain a commitment to be a canon for legendary culture […]
HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired what it describes as “select publishing assets” belonging to singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy, whose credits include Bruno Mars hits like “That’s What I Like,” Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” and Ciara’s “Love Sex Magic.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A four-time Grammy winner — including song of the year and best R&B song for “That’s What I Like” — Fauntleroy has worked with Rihanna, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Frank Ocean, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Drake, SZA, Nipsey Hussle, Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar, among many others. Most recently, he helped write “Die with a Smile,” the new single from Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
Fauntleroy is also a member of the songwriter/producer/musician collective 1500 or Nothin’ and a co-founder of the 1500 Sound Academy, a music school for aspiring young talent that’s based in his hometown of Inglewood.
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“James Fauntleroy has made an incredible impact with his contributions across several genres,” said HarbourView founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares. “With a keen ear for creating global hits, he has solidified his position as one of the best singer/songwriters and producers of this generation.”
HarbourView has scooped up over 60 music catalogs since forming in 2021, including assets by Christine McVie, Brad Paisley, Jeremih, Nelly, Luis Fonsi, Pat Benatar, Wiz Khalifa and, most recently, OneRepublic collaborator Noel Zancanella. Beyond music, the Newark-based investment firm also pounces on opportunities across the entertainment, sports and media sectors.
In a statement, Fauntleroy called the sale of publishing assets to HarbourView the “culmination of years of work and dedication invested into the creative community and the craft of songwriting,” adding, “This partnership has already opened up more doors for growth and opportunity for me, and I’m incredibly excited and thankful to enter into this next chapter together.”
HarbourView Equity Partners, the Newark, NJ-based investment firm that has acquired rights to music by Wiz Khalifa and Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, among many others, raised approximately $500 million through an asset-backed securitization [ABS], the company announced Wednesday.
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The private ABS, backed by royalties generated by its music catalog, was led by global investment firm KKR. Investment accounts advised by Kuvare Asset Management also participated. Guggenheim Securities was the structuring advisor, and Guggenheim Securities and Barclays acted as co-placement agents.
“We are grateful to KKR for working with us to deliver a flexible and innovative financing structure that will support HarbourView in expanding its reach,” HarbourView founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares said in a statement. “This capital will allow us to further our mission of investing in assets and companies driven by premier intellectual property while striving to ensure that creators are appropriately valued for their contributions to the world.”
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“This transaction is a testament to the scale and versatility of our High-Grade Asset-Based Finance [ABF] strategy, which is a fast-growing segment of our private credit business,” Avi Korn and Chris Mellia, co-heads of U.S. ABF at KKR, said in a statement. KKR’s ABF segment has amassed approximately $48 billion in assets under management since 2016. “Music IP is one of many areas where we see opportunity and we are pleased to finance a scaled and high-quality portfolio in this space.”
Founded in 2021, HarbourView launched with $1 billion of financial backing from investment giant Apollo Global Management. The company increased its buying power in December by increasing its credit facility by $100 million to $300 million. To date, it has acquired over 50 catalogs — including Brad Paisley, Jeremih, Nelly, Luis Fonsi and Eslabon Armado — and has $1.6 billion in regulatory managed assets.
The ABS will give HarbourView additional ammunition to pursue music rights. When a music company raises money through an ABS, it sells debt that will be repaid by royalties from its music catalog. A large music catalog filled with established songs provides to type of diversified, predictable income that’s attractive to investors. Music companies often prefer an ABS because it tends to have a higher loan-to-value ratio than traditional debt. That means the music company can raise more funding from a specific portfolio through an ABS than a bank would be willing to lend against the same assets.
A handful of companies have raised enormous sums of money through music royalties ABS deals in the past two years. In 2021, Lyric and Northleaf launched a $304 million ABS backed by 52,000 assets in Spirit Music Group’s portfolio. In 2022, Concord did a $1.8 billion ABS and Chord Music Partners, a venture of KKR and Dundee Music Partners, raised $733 million. Most recently, Kobalt raised $267 million in February through a security backed by publishing royalties from a 5,000-song catalog.
The growth of the music streaming market has helped create the current climate for music-backed ABS deals — and should result in more deals in the future. A large music catalog’s streaming royalties makes music assets “more suitable” for securitization, ratings agency S&P Global wrote in February. “The uptick in global music industry revenue over the last several years, and the desire of market players to diversify funding sources suggests that we may continue to see more of these types of transactions in the coming years.”
HarbourView Equity Partners, which has emerged as a leading buyer of R&B/hip-hop music assets, announced that it has acquired select songwriting and publishing assets of Full Force, the music group and production team whose credits include UTFO’s “Roxanne Roxanne;” the Backstreet Boys‘ “All I Have to Give You;” Rihanna’s “That La, La La;” and their own “Ain’t My Type of Hype.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Besides the above songs, Full Force discovered Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, which went on to release hits like “I Wonder If I Can Take You Home” and “All Cried Out” — both of which were on the latter group’s debut album, a collaboration credited to Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force.
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“The repertoire of Full Force defined a generation of Pop / R&B / Hip Hop with writings spanning NSync, BackStreet Boys, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam not to mention their own legacy as artists,” HarbourView Equity Partners CEO/founder Sherrese Clarke Soares said in a statement. “As exceptional songwriters, producers, and musicians, they’ve seamlessly weaved creativity and innovation into timeless tunes, collaborating with some of the most prominent icons of our generation.”
According to the announcement, Full Force’s “unique ability to seamlessly blend R&B, hip-hop, pop and dance elements in both their own performances and work with other artists…has left an enduring legacy and impact on the fabric of the music landscape.”
In a statement on the deal, Brian B-Fine George of Full Force said, “Full Force is excited to be working with Harbourview, a company with a vision that’s right on trend with the future, and very dedicated to expanding the reach of our extensive song catalog.”
HarbourView Equity’s other R&B/hip-hop acquisitions include select music assets by Nelly, Wiz Khalifa and Jeremih; and the publishing catalog of songwriting and production duo Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, better known as Dre & Vidal, among others.
The company describes itself as a “multi-strategy, investment firm focused on investment opportunities in the entertainment and media space. Its asset portfolio features thousands of titles spanning numerous genres, eras, and artists, amounting to a diversified catalog of over 28,000 songs across both master recordings and publishing income streams.”
The announcement further describes HarbourView as striving “to be the standard for excellence and integrity in investing in assets and companies driven by premier intellectual property, with experience in and around esoteric asset classes, including in music, film, TV, and sports.’’
Cynthia Katz and Heidy Vaquerano from Fox Rothschild LLP served as legal counsel to HarbourView for this transaction. Full Force was represented by Karl Guthrie at The Guthrie Law Firm and JAM at Tompkins Farm Music Inc.
HarbourView Equity Partners continues to scoop up R&B/hip-hop music assets with its latest acquisition of certain publishing and recorded music assets from singer, songwriter and record producer Jeremih. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Jeremih’s Hot 100 hits include “Birthday […]
HarborView Equity Partners, a rising player in music acquisitions that has built a hip-hop and R&B-heavy song catalog, announced Tuesday (Dec. 4) that it amended its senior secured credit facility to increase its borrowing capacity from $200 million to $300 million. The additional $100 million of funding will be used to continue to acquire music royalty catalogs as well as for general corporate purposes.
The credit facility is led by Fifth Third Bank and includes California Bank & Trust, MUFG Bank, Regions Bank and BankUnited. For the amended facility, three new lenders were added to the syndicate: Bank of America, Barclays and First Bank & Trust Company.
“HarbourView remains committed to providing the best execution for our growing LP base, against a relatively challenging market environment. We are thankful to both our new and existing financing partners for their commitment to HarbourView’s success,” said HarbourView head of capital markets Carlos Cruz in a statement.
“As capital conditions evolve, we are grateful for the continued support of our banking partners who have helped support HarbourView’s tremendous growth since inception,” added HarbourView CEO/founder Sherrese Clarke Soares.
Clarke Soares, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley who later founded Tempo Music and won the UBS & Billboard Trailblazer Award in February, has been attracted to R&B, hip-hop and Latin genres in addition to the classic pop and rock catalogs pursued by most investors.
Founded in 2021, the Newark, N.J.-based Harbourview is behind such recent acquisitions as the royalty income of select Nelly recordings, select recorded music and publishing assets of Wiz Khalifa and select publishing assets of Kane Brown. To date, HarbourView has acquired 45 music catalogs spanning about 26,000 songs. HarbourView owns the publishing catalog of “Despacito” co-writer Luis Fonsi and the publishing catalog of Dre & Vidal, the songwriting and production duo behind hits from Alicia Keys, Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige.
“We’re looking at the intersection of historical performance, growth trends, returns — and expectation in terms of price,” Clarke Soares told Billboard in 2022. “Where all that intersects is where we have found a lot of great opportunities.”
