Financial Institutions Are Pouring Their Money Into Music Rights

2021 and 2022 have been huge years for sales of music rights, as billions in intellectual property was purchased from creators and acquired by large companies.

Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul Simon, Motley Crue, and Tina Turner are just some of the big-name artists that sold their entire catalog in 2021. In many cases, the purchasers were familiar, music industry names like Sony and BMG, but as emerging technologies come into focus, bigger players are stepping in and looking for a cut.

Some of the biggest and most high-profile names in the current acquisition spree are financial institutions Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, and KKR, each of which boasts 12 figures AUM. The latest name to enter the music investment craze is Newport Beach-based asset management company Pimco, whose portfolio of assets totals over $2.2 trillion.

Pimco has jumped into music via a partnership with BMG, while Apollo Global Management is investing in Sherrese Clarke Soare’s global firm, HarbourView Equity. Clarke Soares, who was previously founder and CEO of media investment platform Tempo Music, describes her new investment firm as “focused on niche markets and esoteric investment opportunities in the media and entertainment space.”

Meanwhile, Blackstone and Hipgnosis launched their partnership last October, in which Blackstone announced that they would initially deliver $1 billion to Hipgnosis for the purposes of acquiring music rights and managing catalogs.

The big takeaway: while 20th-century mega-stars are cashing out, it’s never been more important for today’s music industry professionals at every level and in every role to know the value of their assets. Some of the largest financial institutions in the world are going long on the music industry in a big way – a strong indicator of a bright future ahead for rights owners.