Music Deals -- Week 28 2021

Music private equity firm​​​ Lyric Capital Group​ has acquired for $130 million a catalogue of music rights from an unknown artist described as "a singer, songwriter, and producer whose works span over 20 years​." The transaction ​includes the artists' masters, publishing, and video portfolio. ​Eaton Partners, a Stifel Financial Corp.​-owned ​placement agent and financial advisory firms, acted as exclusive financial advisor and placement agent for the transaction​. ​Peter Martenson, partner at Eaton Partners​, said ​the acquisition ​"​of this truly iconic music catalog​ue" ​has "cemented​" Lyric's position as "a market leader within the music royalty investment arena."​ Added Jon Singer, managing partner at Lyric Capital Group​:​ “With our $1 billion-plus, proprietarily sourced pipeline and value-oriented approach, we believe we are well-positioned to capture the momentum of an exciting sector.”

Skydance and Concord have ​sealed a ​partner​ip with Jennifer Lopez and her ​company ​Nuyorican Production to develop original projects based on Concord’s vast catalogue of musicals, including the works of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Lopez, along with partners Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, will executive produce for Nuyorican Productions with an option to star in at least one of the projects. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost will executive produce for Skydance, alongside Sophia Dilley of Concord’s Film & TV division and Concord CEO, Scott Pascucci.​ “Musicals were a part of the tapestry of my childhood. We’re so excited to begin our association with Skydance and Concord in reinterpreting some of the most classic musicals and bringing them to life in new ways for a new generation,” said Lopez.​

Dutch company​ CTM Music and Bertelsmann Group​-owned ​talent agency​ ​We Are Era have entered into an exclusive partnership to launch global music releases from online creators and social media talents. ​With 240 employees and offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Copenhagen, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Stockholm​, We Are Era represents more than 1,600 social talents and artists in Europe, aggregating more than 4 billion video views on social platforms. ​"Online creators and social media talents have become increasingly well known in recent years. In addition to great visual content, music is also increasingly being released; these releases often achieve millions of streams and views. We are proud to be partner of We Are Era and to develop artists together and make their music successful​," said ​Bo de Raaff​, ​General Manager​ of​ CTM Music​.

France's independent digital distribution company IDOL has rebranded as Labelcamp its technical services division, known as IDOL Tech Services. Labelcamp is a white-label distribution application, running on its own RESTful API, which centralises catalogue management and content delivery tools, as well as a sales reporting system and modern analytics dashboards. Labelcamp is already used by indie companies such as [PIAS], Because, Ditto Music, Kompakt, and many more. Labelcamp also operates as a delivery partner for Spotify, Apple and the Merlin Network.


​US independent music company Reservoir has signed performer, songwriter, and producer Rufio Hooks to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes Rufio’s current global hit co-write 'Butter' by K-Pop group BTS, plus future works. ​“I am excited to team up with Reservoir and start this next chapter of my career,” says Hooks. “I think the culture that they have built in both Nashville and LA is really special.”  

BE83 Music, the Birmingham, UK-based independent record label founded by Despa Robinson in 2006, has signed a global distribution deal with Sony Music’s distribution and service company for the independent sector The Orchard. “This new partnership between BE83 and The Orchard is enabling us to scale up our business and deliver on this vision to take the midland’s sound around the world," said Robinson.