CTM partners with Outlander to invest up to $1bn in music assets in the next five years

 

By Emmanuel Legrand

Outlander Capital Management, a Dallas-based intellectual property fund targeting both music and patent royalty streams, and Dutch music company CTM, set up by André de Raaff, have announced a strategic alliance to acquire music publishing and master rights. The two partners have set up CTM Outlander Music LP, with the ambition to invest up to $1billion over the next 5 years in music assets.

  CTM Outlander Music said it plans "to capitalise on Outlander’s intellectual property expertise and knowledge to gather the rights necessary for holographic performances and the issuance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — namely, rights to use songs and likenesses for these purposes."

  “We have carefully studied the music IP market for some time now," said Les Ware, a managing Principal of Outlander. "We have been managing intellectual property for the past 30 years and believe that the time has come to bring our expertise to bear on the music industry. Technology is changing the music market very rapidly and we have the deep expertise necessary to navigate and profit from these changes."

Target profitable acquisitions

  De Raaff is not a newcomer in the business of music assets. In 2008, he set up Imagem, which was funded by the Dutch pension fund, and made a series of acquisitions such as Boosey & Hawkes, before being sold in 2017 to Concord for $500 million. “We are thrilled about our relationship with Outlander and its principals’ proven investment savvy, and look forward to many profitable acquisitions with Outlander," said de Raaff (pictured, below).

  The new fund has acquired the music publishing assets of TEN Music Group, a Stockholm-based company founded by veteran executive Ola Håkansson, which has a song portfolio of over 1,000 tracks, including songs performed by Rihanna, Shakira, Panic! At the Disco and Zara Larsson ('Lush Life'). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  “We are convinced that the new partnership between Outlander and CTM, together with André and CTM’s longstanding experience and reputation in music publishing, will provide a great new home for TEN’s publishing catalogue,” said Håkansson.

A robust foundation

 For Ware, the TEN acquisition "fits our strategic goals and serves as a robust foundation for our fund’s music acquisitions. In cooperation with André we trust that this is the first of many, many purchases.” 

  Ware, is also the co-founder and chairman of Marconi, a multi-platform patent management firm that manages the licensing of tens of thousands of patents globally for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and other major IP holders around the world.

  Outlander plans create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing legendary artists, iconic songs, and unforgettable musical moments. Outlander's NFT will "differentiate" from others "by backing them with provable legal rights in the song, the likeness of the artist, and/or in the footage used."

Promote holographic performances

  Outlander also plans to gather the rights necessary for holographic performances, including the right to use songs and likeness rights in such performances. The company said it has long term business relationships with the firms "most likely to deliver easily-distributable holographic concert technology. We manage patents in this field and have a deep understanding of the technology as it will apply to both e-sports and music. Thus, we are well-positioned to provide a use-case for the technology which will provide additional revenue streams for our artist partners."