Publishing Catch-Up: Pink Floyd's L400 Million Payday, Kobalt Music in Talks to Sell to Francisco Partners & More

We catch up on the latest music publishing news, from key deals and signings to new hires, legislation and more.

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Deals & Signings

Tejiri Akpoghene & Abovav Sign to Ultra & The Revels Group's Coup D'Etat Music for Publishing (Billboard)

The Nigerian hitmaker, with the help of his management team at Abovav Play, has entered his first global publishing deal.

Black Rock to administer Adesso Music's new publishing operation (Music Week)

Sentric's dedicated electronic division Black Rock is to administer Adesso Music's new publishing operation.

Reservoir signs deal with writer-producer Nick Lee (Music Week)

Lee found success co-producing Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow's multi-platinum hit Industry Baby. He has also collaborated with artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Mustard, Vince Staples, Seventeen, and Dillon Francis.

Sony Music Publishing Inks Worldwide Deal with Taiko (Digital Music News)

Over the years, Taiko has gained great recognition within the Latin urban genre, producing chart-topping hits for some of today's biggest superstars.

Songwriter Daphne Willis Signs Worldwide Publishing Deal With Position Music (Broadway World)

Daphne's first release with Position Music will be her TYGR TYGR project with the first single slated to drop later this year.

Kobalt signs UK producer and mixer Tom Demac (Music Week)

Kobalt has signed Tom Demac to a worldwide publishing administration agreement, including global sync and creative services for his catalogue and future songs.

Kobalt to launch a collection of music NFTs based on lyrics (Music Ally)

While artists and labels have hogged the headlines when it comes to launching music NFTs, publishers are exploring how they can get involved too.

Royalties & CMOs

BMI scraps multi-billion dollar sale plan following underwhelming offers (MBW)

Sources familiar with the matter said interested parties like private equity firms and technology providers tabled offers for the company but some backed out, while other offers did not meet BMI's requirements.

STIM launches music service for YouTube Creators (CMU)

Swedish collecting society STIM has launched a new service called Cora Music which is, and I quote, "a world-first service, providing YouTubers with a one-stop shop for quality music".

Finance & Investment

Kobalt Music Group in talks to sell majority stake to Francisco Partners, say MBW sources (MBW) Senior MBW sources tell us that US-headquartered Francisco Partners is currently in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Kobalt Music Group, with the possibility of a deal being signed over the next week or two.

Pink Floyd make a stash to tune of L400m with sale of back catalogue (The Times)

The American private equity group Blackstone is vying with other firms including Sony, Warner, BMG and Primary Wave for Pink Floyd's copyrights, which include their songs and master copy recordings.

Major Takeover Among German Publishers as ROBA Teams with Fund in Acquisition of GERIG (Synchblog)

This is one of the bigger music publishing takeovers in Germany with a seven figure NPS and selling price in the €10-20 million range.

Sum 41's Deryck Whibley Sells Publishing Catalog to HarbourView (Billboard)

The move adds to the equity fund's collection of rights, which includes works by Brad Paisley, Lady A, Hollywood Undead, Dre & Vidal, Luis Fonsi and more.

People

Sony Music Publishing opens Nigeria office, names Godwin Tom as Managing Director (Music in Africa) Sony Music Publishing (SMP) has announced new operations in Lagos, Nigeria, with industry expert Godwin Tom named as managing director.

Ben Katovsky joins Hipgnosis Song Management as President and COO (MBW)

Katovsky will lead daily operations of the business, overseeing the maximization of opportunities for Hipgnosis' administered catalogs while also leading strategic initiatives such as the development of Hipgnosis' proprietary technology and data platform.

Eddie Sikazwe becomes Secretly Publishing's first-ever senior director of A&R (Music Week)

Sikazwe - who joined Secretly in 2020, after founding the LA-based Abstract Management - has been a member of the A&R team for both Secretly Publishing and the Secretly Group of record labels.

Universal Music Publishing Taps David Gray to Lead New Global Creative Group (Variety) Universal Music Group has promoted publishing executive David Gray to an expanded role as head of the newly created UMPG Global Creative Group. He will also continue as executive VP and head of US A&R.

Litmus Music names BMG publishing exec Monti Olson as president (Music Week)

Olson will lead acquisitions for Litmus, which is focused on acquiring and managing music rights, including both publishing and recordings.

Facts & Figures

Publishers Quarterly: Harry Styles, Latto Top Song Charts as UMPG & Sony Share Bragging Rights (Billboard)

Universal's 11 percentage-point market-share gain vaults it to the top of the Hot 100 ranking for the second quarter, while Sony retains its lead on Radio Airplay.

Interesting Reads

"The Longest TV Negotiation I Have Ever Seen": Behind Kate Bush's "Stranger Things" Sync Deal (THR)

Warner Music Group executives break down how "Running Up That Hill" was added to the Netflix hit and elaborate on how digital platforms have opened up new opportunities for artists.

Inside the Bowie catalogue and documentary with music publisher Warner Chappell (Music Week)

To mark the upcoming release of Moonage Daydream, Warner Chappell's Guy Moot opens up about the responsibility that comes with being the late icon's music publisher.

Client Sync of the Month: Raleigh Music Group x Apple x Elvis Presley (Synchblog)

This month we caught up with Peter Raleigh,President of Raleigh Music Group, to discuss representing the Elvis catalog and recent placements in an Apple Watch commercial and the Baz Luhrmann Elvis biopic.