catalog sales
Nat King Cole Recordings Sold to Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group quietly acquired about 200 recordings by Nat King Cole from the iconic singer’s estate in January 2021, the company revealed Thursday (March 17), bringing all of his recordings under UMG ownership. The songs, recorded between 1961 and 1964, were previously licensed to Capitol Records — now owned by UMG — under a deal Cole negotiated following his rise to fame. His earlier recordings, also of about 200 songs, were all originally released on Capitol Records as well. The agreement was first reported by Forbes to be in the range of $10 to $20 million – a price range Billboard confirmed with a source familiar with the deal. Recordings included in the acquisition include such iconic songs as “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable,” “The Christmas Song (Merry Christm...
Run the Jewels’ Killer Mike Strikes Publishing Deal with Reservoir
Rapper and actor Killer Mike has signed a publishing deal with Reservoir Media, including future works and his back catalog. The agreement will include the independent publisher taking a stake in the discography of Run the Jewels, the rap duo comprised of Killer Mike and EL-P, who have released such hit tracks as “Legend Has It,” “Close Your Eyes” and “Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1.” Born and raised in Atlanta, Killer Mike has dropped four landmark albums with Run the Jewels over the course of his career, as well as six solo projects dating back to his 2003 debut record Monster, released via Columbia Records. He’s also renowned for his collaborations with other hip-hop heavyweights including Jay-Z, Outkast, T.I. and Big Boi. As an actor, Killer Mike has had roles in films such as Baby...
Influence Media Calls Tainy Catalog Acquisition an ‘Eight-Figure Deal’
Influence Media Partners, which previously acknowledged its acquisition of rights from producer/artist Tainy, has provided additional details on the deal, saying it consists of the producer’s song publishing catalog from 2005 to 2021 and includes such songs as Cardi B‘s “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin; Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “Dakiti;” and Kali Uchis’ “Telepatia.” Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, other than to describe it as an eight-figure deal. “I am happy to continue to be a part of this cultural awakening for Latino music and artists in this business,” Tainy said in a statement. “This acquisition solidifies my hard work and the power that Latin music has in the global mainstream.” Influence Media, which is backed with funding from BlackRock Alternative Inve...
BMG Goes ‘Boom Boom,’ Acquires John Lee Hooker Music Assets
BMG and its partner FujiPacific Music have acquired the music publishing catalog of John Lee Hooker, the companies announced on Wednesday. In addition, BMG alone has purchased his recorded masters royalties and some of the late blues master’s recorded masters spanning from 1980’s Alone Vol. 1 through 2020’s Black Night Is Falling. Terms of the deals with Hooker’s estate remain undisclosed, but the publishing catalog includes such classic tunes as “Boom Boom,” “One Scotch, One Beer” and “Boogie Chillen’.” BMG says that while some of the Hooker rights will still remain with third parties, the German company will now take the lead role in promoting the artist’s catalog. “As the longtime managers of the John Lee Hooker Estate, JAM, Inc. was happy to help the Estate and BMG conclude this transa...
Alice In Chains’ Music Rights Acquired by Primary Wave and Round Hill
The catalog includes such hits as “Man in the Box,” “Rooster” and “Would.” In the U.S. alone, the band’s activities generated more than 18 million album consumption units, including 12 million CD sales. “Primary Wave is pleased to partner with the estates of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to honor their musical legacies as part of the classic era lineup of Alice In Chains, who created the amazing songs and records that comprise the albums Dirt and Facelift, and the acoustic EPs, Jar of Flies and Sap,” said Primary Wave’s David Weitzman in a statement. “These projects represent the greatest works from one of the best artists of the iconic ’90’s Seattle based grunge era.” Lead singer Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002, while bassist Starr died of an overdose in 2011. Meanwhile, in addition ...
The Deals: Round Hill Acquires Nancy Wilson Royalty Stake, Murda Beatz Signs With ADA
Round Hill Music acquired a significant share of Nancy Wilson‘s master royalties and has entered a long-term deal to administer her neighboring rights income. Though the exact share of the Heart singer, songwriter and guitarist’s master royalties remains undisclosed, Round Hill will own portions of classic Heart songs like “Barracuda,” “Magic Man,” “Alone,” “Crazy on You” and “These Dreams” — all of which were co-penned by Wilson. Trevor Bowen, chair of Round Hill Music, said of the deal, “We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of Nancy Wilson’s fantastic catalogue of classic Heart tracks from across her career including songs from her double and triple platinum selling albums. This important acquisition provides the Company with direct exposure to a timeless American rock band.” ...
Hipgnosis Buys Stake in Kenny Chesney Recording Royalties
Hipgnosis Song Management has acquired 80% of country superstar Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties. The deal is the first acquisition made by Hipgnosis since its new $1 billion partnership with Blackstone, announced in October, to acquire music rights and manage catalogs and is also Hipgnosis’s first deal with a country superstar. The pact covers Chesney’s recorded music royalties over a 23-year period, from 1994’s In My Wildest Dreams, his debut on Capricorn Records, through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation. Chesney recorded for Sony Music Nashville imprints from 1995 to 2017. The deal also includes future greatest hits, live and acoustic albums. Chesney switched to Warner Music Nashville in 2018 and the deal does not include any of his recorded music royalties for 2018’s Songs for th...
John Legend Sells Music Catalog to BMG and KKR
John Legend is taking “All of Me” to another level, selling his signature song as part of a larger portfolio of compositions which were acquired last year by BMG and global investment firm KKR, Billboard has confirmed. As first reported by Bloomberg, the EGOT recipient sold both his personal share of the copyrights to his compositions as well as the recorded music royalties for his music dated 2004 thru early 2021 to the partnering companies for an undisclosed sum back in September. A UCC regulatory filing indicated that DL Music IP LP, an affiliate of KKR Credit Advisors, and BMG Rights Management each purchased a 50% stake in the Legend catalog. BMG and KKR have not formally announced the acquisition, and financial details of the sale are not yet known. Both companies declined requests t...
What Is Eldridge Industries? A Primer on Sony’s Springsteen Partner
Bruce Springsteen’s blockbuster catalog sale to Sony Music Group this week also established a new player in rights acquisitions. Investment firm Eldridge Industries, which partnered with Sony to finance the purchase of Springsteen’s publishing, now holds a stake one of the industry’s most coveted catalogs — around which it can build an attractive portfolio. Eldridge Industries is a private investment firm with holdings in tech, media, retail, entertainment and other sectors. Co-founded in 2015 by Todd Boehly, a former president at Guggenheim Partners, Eldridge investments include the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, sports gambling company DraftKings, private jet provider Flexjet and personal finance app Truebill, among others. Eldridge owns a stake in P-MRC, a joint venture of MRC and P...
‘Eye of the Tiger’ Writer Strikes Catalog Deal With Primary Wave
Jim Peterik — a songwriter and band member of The Ides of March, ’80s pop-rock band Survivor and southern rock group .38 Special — has sold a majority stake in his full publishing catalog to Primary Wave. According to sources close to the deal, the acquisition is purported to be in the ballpark of $20 million. It includes Peterik’s stake in the perennial rock anthem “Eye of the Tiger,” which became Survivor’s greatest hit after its placement in Rocky III‘s montage training scene. Along with “Eye of the Tiger,” Peterik’s new partnership with Primary Wave will include other Survivor co-writes like “Burning Heart,” “High On You” and “I Can’t Hold Back.” It also includes .38 Special’s platinum-selling hits “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up In You” as well as “Vehicle” by The Ides of March. Prim...
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