Finance
“secondary sales will just expand the field for what is in play,” a publishing executive pointed out. A market for publishing assets inevitably means that not everyone will succeed — but it should also provide other buyers. A certain amount of consolidation may be inevitable, but it might not be so bad.
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
On what happens when the catalogue a PE purchased runs its course for them
HarbourView leads $85m investment in AI-powered kids entertainment company Animaj - Music Business Worldwide
Murray Stassenmusicbusinessworldwide.com
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
Historically, record labels and music publishers could use the royalties from their older hits to underwrite risky bets on unproven talent. But why “would you spend your time trying to create something new at the expense of your catalog?” asked Merck Mercuriadis
Marc Hogan • Same Old Song: Private Equity Is Destroying Our Music Ecosystem
Private equity is an investment class where firms raise capital to acquire and manage private companies or take public companies private, with the goal of ultimately selling them for a profit. These investments typically require significant capital commitments over several years.
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
One lawyer said that this market is encouraging creators and publishers to improve their contracts and document-retention practices.
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
Another advantage of PE acquisition
One of the few points of agreement is that this has been great for creators so far, especially songwriters. These deals involve creators who are already making money, but the ability to sell their catalogs lets them replace a steady stream of revenue with a one-time cash infusion — it’s “allowed artists the ability to have more liquidity opportunit... See more
Robert Levine • What Does Private Equity Mean for the Music Business Long-Term?
Re: Private Equity firm Puchases of Music Rights
it’s hard to argue that already wealthy artists should receive 1990s-level compensation for the type of flagrantly recycled fare that the private equity cohort demands.