We catch up on the latest music publishing news, from key deals and signings to new hires, legislation and more.
Deals & Acquisitions
David Bowie’s Estate Sells His Publishing Catalog to Warner Chappell (Variety)
After months of negotiations, David Bowie’s estate has sold the singer’s formidable publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music for a price upwards of $250 million.
Bruce Springsteen Sells Music Catalog in Massive Deal (New York Times)
Bruce Springsteen has sold his music rights to Sony Music Entertainment in what may well be the biggest transaction ever struck for a single artist’s body of work.
BMG & KKR acquire “entire music interests” of ZZ Top (Music Week)
An official press release stated that the ZZ Top agreement includes: “a buyout of the band’s publishing catalogue and their income from recorded royalties and performance royalties”.
Primary Wave acquires stake in catalog of singer-songwriter Matt Redman (MBW)
Primary Wave says the deal strengthens its position in the faith-based market following a partnership with Christian music company Gaither Music Group in 2019.
Round Hill Royalty Fund acquires publishing rights from country singer/songwriter Niko Moon (MBW)
The catalog includes the number one Zac Brown Band hits Homegrown, Keep Me in Mind, Heavy is the Head, Beautiful Drug and Loving You Easy.
George Michael Estate, Warner Chappell Music Extend Global Publishing Deal (Variety)
The deal covers Michael’s solo work and songs from his time in Wham! The George Michael-Warner Chappell alignments dates back four decades, according to an announcement of the renewal.
Tempo Music acquires publishing rights from producers Stefan Forrest, Morten Ristorp and Morten Pilegaard (MBW)
US-based Tempo Music has reached an agreement with Danish producers/songwriters Stefan Forrest, Morten Ristorp and Morten Pilegaard to acquire what is calls a “significant percentage of their music publishing royalty rights”.
Signings
Sony Music Publishing signs global deal with Brazilian pop star Anitta (MBW)
Sony says that Anitta will work closely with SMP’s US and US Latin Creative teams, including US SVP Creatives Amanda Hill and Katie Welle, and Monica Jordan, Director, Creative, US Latin.
Reservoir Media signs Snarky Puppy to global deal (Music Week)
As part of the deal, Reservoir will also represent League’s GroundUp Music, which is the label and publishing home for many of Snarky Puppy’s members, collaborators and larger musical family.
Royalties & CMOs
How Publishers Can Fight Back Against Streaming Services Trying to Pay Less (Guest Column) (Billboard)
It is time for songwriters, publishers, performing rights organizations and trade groups to put their past differences to the side and work together to stop the music services from hurting the music publishing business.
Finance & Investment
Primary Wave has over $1 billion to spend on music rights… and it’s not wasting any time (MBW)
MBW grills Mestel on Primary Wave’s current spending power, its recent James Brown buyout, the possibilities of NFTs – and why Mestel believes some of his competitors are “buying catalogs and putting them in drawers”…
‘Bowie bonds’ are are back: Northleaf uses Spirit Music Group assets to raise $303.8m offering (MBW)
Private equity company Northleaf Capital has announced it is raising $303.8 million by selling Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) that are supported by music rights – including songs created by Pete Townshend and Tim McGraw.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund now owns a catalog of 65,413 songs… worth a combined $2.55bn (MBW)
According to HSF’s report, its latest independent valuation placed an aggregate multiple of 19.03-times historical annual net publisher share income on the company’s rights portfolio.
DjookyX platform launches to enable fans to invest in music rights (Music Week)
Building on the growing interest in music as an asset class, DjookyX offers a means for music creators and rights-holders to finance their projects, while fans can purchase rights in tracks of their choice and benefit from future royalties.
What Is Eldridge Industries? A Primer on Sony’s Springsteen Partner (Billboard)
The expansive investment firm has stakes in the LA Dodgers, Billboard’s parent company and The Killers’ song catalog.
Interesting Reads
The Synchtank 2021 Round Up: Synchblog Highlights & Company News (Synchblog)
Catch up on this year’s best Synchblog content and learn more about Synchtank’s key developments and successes in 2021.
Independent publishers say that re-slicing the digital pie is the “defining issue” of the moment (CMU)
The International Music Publishers Forum has launched a report reviewing the independent music publishing sector in 2020, with the study’s key conclusion being that the good old digital pie needs to be re-sliced to the song’s advantage.
Charting the Music Industry’s Global Deals and Strategies in Emerging Markets in 2021 (Synchblog)
Despite COVID-19’s grip over society, the concepts of cultural globalisation and digital connectivity remain in motion as record labels, music publishers, distributors and artist service companies continue to explore new territories.
‘Songs are the most important currency in the music business today.’ (MBW)
Jeannette Perez, newly named President and COO at Kobalt, discusses lessons learned in her career, the evolution of the independent publishing sector and what she’d change about the music industry and why.
The Valued Gap: 2021 in Review (Synchblog)
A look at the key themes and trends (as well as the deals) that defined the year and that will directly shape what happens in 2022 and beyond.
What BandLab and Bruce Springsteen tell us about the music business at the end of 2021 (MIDiA Research)
2021 was another year in which capital continued to flow into the music business at pace. Two deals that got over the line before year end have shone an interesting light on the differing strategies that are underpinning this investment.
Defining music NFT ownership, from the digital to the analog world (Water & Music)
This gap in education and communication is rooted in a fundamental tension between the simplicity artists crave in their agreements and the complexity of the global music copyright ecosystem.
Jobs
Global Copyright Specialist – Synchtank (Remote)
Working directly with clients and senior inhouse team, suitable for a highly experienced individual who wants to help redefine how copyright is managed. Fully remote position.
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