Finance
Some writers will worry about how the new owner of their songs will treat them, but realistically — and this might sound cold, but it’s also true — that’s something creators need to think about before they sell.
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
Writers’ concerns over PE catalogue purchases
Private equity firms have poured billions of dollars into music, believing it to be a source of growing and reliable income. Investors spent $12 billion on music rights in just 2021 — more than in the entire decade before the pandemic.
Marc Hogan • Same Old Song: Private Equity Is Destroying Our Music Ecosystem
the market for music copyrights might actually be more solid than that for housing. So far, on-demand streaming has proved pandemic-proof, and it seems recession-proof, so the only danger would be a collapse of the copyright system — and it’s hard to imagine how that would happen, especially now that the music business survived illegal file-sharing... See more
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
Reasons for optimism: On-demand music streaming has weathered the pandemic, suggesting it can weather other financial crises as well.
An all-out collapse of the copyright system would need to occur for any real damage to be done. The industry has survived other threats to the copyright system ie) illegal reproductions.
Music copyrights generate steady cash the way mortgages once did, but while individual investments can rise or fall, it’s harder to imagine that a financial squeeze would lead to a selling frenzy that would send prices downward across the board.
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
How does this work? Need further research
As interest rates have risen, the surge has faded. In February, word surfaced that the private equity behemoth KKR was beating a quiet retreat from the music space. More recently, Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the owner of “Super Freak,” cut the value of its music portfolio by more than a quarter in the wake of a shareholder revolt.
Marc Hogan • Same Old Song: Private Equity Is Destroying Our Music Ecosystem
To the extent that some aspects of copyright regulation involve political power, the influence of private equity could counter that of the big technology companies that generally lobby to undermine copyright. Two executives even suggested that private equity could serve as an engine of reform to make collective management organizations more transpa... See more
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
PE firms political power as a driver for counteracting big tech’s undermining of copyright and to motivate CMO reform
In a secondary buyout, a private equity firm buys a company from another private equity group rather than a listed company. Such deals were assumed to constitute a distress sale but have become more common amid increased specialization by private equity firms.1314 For instance, one firm might buy a company to cut costs before selling it to another ... See more
James Chen • Private Equity Explained With Examples and Ways To Invest
Further Questions:
Curious about how we come to certain conclusions about the stability of music copyright cashflow in comparison to mortgages.
AI threats to copyright system - what does this mean for investors? Is this another instance in which their collective power along with publishers, labels, CMOs and other music industry stakeholders can be used to combat threats posed by big tech?
HarbourView leads $85m investment in AI-powered kids entertainment company Animaj - Music Business Worldwide
Murray Stassenmusicbusinessworldwide.com