Investment firm KKR & Co. is joining the music copyright buying frenzy by investing in pop producer Ryan Tedder’s hit catalog, including songs by Beyoncé, Adele and Stevie Wonder.
The company is taking the majority stake, valuing the catalog at almost $ 200 million, according to people familiar with the transaction. The deal includes a mix of certain copyrights and royalties for about 500 songs written, recorded or produced by Tedder for his band OneRepublic and other artists.
KKR’s entry into music copyright ownership comes amid a flood of business for songwriting catalogs. At the end of 2020, Stevie Nicks sold an 80% stake in his compositional copyright to music publisher Primary Wave, valuing his catalog at $ 100 million. Bob Dylan then sold more than 600 songs to Vivendi SE’s Universal Music Group for between $ 300 million and $ 400 million. In the first week of the new year, music investment company Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. announced deals to buy copyrights from Jimmy Iovine, Lindsey Buckingham and Neil Young. Young’s sale alone reached a price between $ 40 million and $ 50 million for a 50% stake, according to people familiar with the deal.
In 2016, Mr. Tedder sold part of his publication, excluding OneRepublic, to Downtown Music Holdings, which will continue to own and manage these copyrights. Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records also owns the copyright for major recordings of OneRepublic’s recorded music; KKR will participate in the royalty revenue from Mr. Tedder and the band for this song, as well as the royalties from the producer of other recorded assets.
KKR has been investing in the music industry since 2009, including the purchase of Gibson Brands – which recently acquired amplifier manufacturer Mesa / Boogie – and holdings in TikTok, parent company, ByteDance Ltd., BMG and Alpha Theta, formerly Pioneer DJ. The company is actively seeking more investments in music and entertainment, including intellectual property, such as musical compositions, the company said.