T
he market for
publishing catalogs
is booming as
institutional investors
and newer companies
like Primary Wave
Music and Round
Hill Music compete with the majors and
older firms. So far though, most of the
attention has been focused on the rights
to big-name songwriters: Bob Dylan, Neil
Young, Steve Nicks.
Among those paying attention?
Younger songwriters who may not have
written “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ”
— but can easily see that they are. “Every
artist in the business right now is having a
look at the valuations that have been ap-
plied to publishing,” says Three Six Zero
CEO Mark Gillespie, whose client Calvin
Harris, 37, sold his 150-song publishing
catalog to Vine Alternative Investments in
October in a deal estimated to be worth
over $90 million. “I think every creator
who has a solid catalog, it makes sense
for them to have a look at this right now.”
Traditionally, songwriters have been
reluctant to sell their publishing rights,
which are often a source of personal
pride as well as a revenue stream that can
outlive them. That’s changing as the mar-
ket heats up, tax advantages loom, and
touring could be stalled for some time.
In the past six months alone, Concord
Music Publishing purchased Imagine
Dragons’ own shares of its back catalog
(while Universal Music Publishing Group
retained its portion); Vine Alternative
Investments acquired the rights to the
100-plus-song publishing catalog of
Sean Douglas, a 37-year-old songwriter-
producer whose credits include hits by
Demi Lovato and Jason Derulo; 38-year-old songwriter-producer Louis Bell sold
the songs he had written and produced
through 2019, including hits by Post
Malone and Halsey, to UMPG; and Ryan
Tedder, 41, sold a majority share in his
nearly 500 songs to the global investment
firm KKR & Co. And those are just some
of the bigger deals.
Many creators have resisted selling
their catalogs for fear of losing control
and having their songs appear in ads for
cheesy consumer products or politicians
they oppose. They’ve also been warned
by plenty of artists who regret cashing
out too soon. As multiples keep rising
though, some now sense that this could
be their best chance. The money that
comes from such sales can generate tax
advantages, as well as be invested in
a range of potentially more profitable
assets. (Even so, at least half a dozen
creators who have sold some or all of
their catalogs, or are still weighing their
options, declined to comment.)
The recognition that publishing rights
are assets as well as art has also made it
easier to sell the non-blue-chip songs in a
catalog, which means that creators have
more choices than ever. “Some songwrit-
ers are selling a portion of their catalog,
or half their catalog, or certain years that
they’ve been working — it’s essentially
seen as just another form of investment,”
says Downtown Music Publishing CEO
Mike Smith. “They’ll hold back 50% of
their catalog and still look to what returnsthey can get from that in the future, but
they’ll take the cash out and use that to
invest in other things. Some writers want
to start a studio or start their own music
publishing company.” In other words,
they’re spreading out their bets.
Over the past few years, companies
have emerged that can help songwriters
sell even more granular pieces of their
work. “There’s a lot more to the music
business besides superstars, and that’s
where we focus — the midtier, working-
class musician who doesn’t really have
other options,” says Anthony Martini, a
partner at Royalty Exchange, which runs
a platform that allows rights holders to
auction off revenue streams to inves-
tors. “A lot of these funds can’t even buy
something that’s under a certain amount
of money. We want to open this market
to everyone.”
As streaming grows and music gener-
ates more predictable returns, the influx
of cash and attention is also changing
how songwriters think about the manner
in which their work is handled. “What I’m
seeing is an emergence of much more of
a do-it-yourself ethic,” says Smith. “They
just want to have a sustainable career in
which they’re in control of their own des-
tiny and, ideally, in control of their own
masters and publishing rights.”
Publishers are changing, too. In 2010,
Kobalt chairman Willard Ahdritz helped
launch Kobalt Capital, what he called a
“financial innovation” that became thefirst music royalty fund regulated by
multiple institutional investors. “People
wanted to sell because they wanted to
buy a house, or they had divorced, or
they had all their money in copyrights
and they wanted to diversify,” says
Ahdritz. “So my thinking was, ‘Why
would they go to another publisher if
they wanted to sell?’ For new writers and
going forward, I don’t see a downside in
selling when people see the value.”
Kobalt also helped usher in shorter
deal lengths, which have since become
an industry standard, while the shift
toward administration over the past
decade has made it easier for both
songwriters and investors to own
songs while offloading marketing and
accounting to traditional publishers. This,
too, means more options. “In the ’80s,
everyone was running around saying they
didn’t know if the business would survive
if they moved away from 50-50 life-of-
copyright deals,” says Smith. “And now,
we’re seeing very slim splits, we’re seeing
very short terms, and we’re still seeing a
very robust business.”
What’s next? “In the not too distant fu-
ture, you’re going to see more speeding
up of accounting, plus being able to use
new technologies to be able to deliver
payment,” says Gillespie. “Is it going to
affect the business? For sure it is. Even
just in the mindset of, ‘I’m creating a
song — what is the long-term recog-
nized value of it?’ ”ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN INZANASTAR TRACK:
THE NEXT
GENERATION
MAJOR CATALOGS ARE
SELLING FOR HUGE
PRICES. WHAT DOES THAT
MEAN FOR YOUNGER
SONGWRITERS?BY LYNDSEY HAVENS and DAN RYS
FEBRUARY 20, 2021 • WWW.BILLBOARD.COM 4 7