Largest Music Agreements of 2024

Venue management may lack the charm of beloved classic rock catalogs, but the live entertainment sector looks exceptionally profitable with music and sports enthusiasts flocking to venues and paying unprecedented ticket prices. First disclosed in 2023, Legends’ acquisition of AEG’s ASM Global venue management arm ultimately closed in August — after Legends incurred a $3.5 million civil penalty for antitrust infractions. As Billboard summed up in November 2023, when private equity partner Onex informed AEG of its intent to sell its 35% interest in ASM Global, AEG chose to dispose of its share as well. This venue management segment integrates seamlessly into Legends’ broad business scope that encompasses planning, ticket sales, hospitality, merchandise, and partnerships. With a robust recovery in live events post-pandemic, the sale price was double ASM Global’s valuation when AEG and Onex merged their facility management resources to establish the company in 2019.

After a six-year stint trading on the London Stock Exchange, a vote supported by over 99.9% of Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders favored selling the innovative music royalty fund’s song collection to Blackstone. Finalized in July, this transaction culminated a tumultuous year for both shareholders and Hipgnosis’ board, which initiated a search for outside buyers in 2023 due to the fund’s long-standing low stock price and a management crisis that led to a shareholder revolt. Blackstone’s proposal distributed $1.31 per share for investors and assigned the fund a market capitalization of $1.584 billion, exceeding Concord’s competing bid of $1.25 per share. The massive global investment firm now controls Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s collection of 65,000 songs, alongside the private music assets found in Hipgnosis Songs Assets and Hipgnosis Song Management, which serves as the investment advisor for both collections. Blackstone is investing in data analytics, investor education, and increasing transparency and disclosures to enhance investor insight into music as a viable asset class.  

In the second notable transaction of 2024 that effectively took a publicly traded company private, around 95% of the shares of the French music company Believe were gained by a group of investors formed with support from prominent venture capital firm TCV and private equity firm EQT X, along with Believe founder/chairman/CEO Denis Ladegaillerie. First listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange in June 2021, the consortium proposed purchasing a majority of its shares at 15.00 euros ($16.10) per share in February — a 21% premium over the previous closing figure — in order to “better execute its value-creation strategy and fast-track the growth of an independent entity that supports artists and label clients … [and] enhance and solidify its leadership in the French and European markets.” Warner Music Group briefly contemplated acquiring Believe in March estimating an offer of “at least” 17 euros ($18.24) per share, implying a company valuation of 1.65 billion euros ($1.8 billion). However, Warner withdrew before making a formal bid, citing insufficient time for thorough examination of the company’s operations. 

Private equity firm New Mountain Capital finalized its acquisition of the performance rights organization BMI in February in a deal speculated to be valued between $1.3 and $1.5 billion. As the leading performing rights organization globally, BMI represents one of New Mountain Capital’s few music-adjacent investments. The New York-based investment company, managing $45 billion in assets, also holds a stake in Citrin Cooperman, which bought Barry Massarsky’s Massarsky Consulting in 2022. As part of the agreement, BMI’s affiliated songwriters and publishers received $100 million from the sale proceeds this spring in acknowledgment of their significance to BMI. 

In November, just over three months following its acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s catalog, teeming with hits by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, and Shakira, Blackstone-owned Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM) leveraged those assets as security for a $1.47 billion music rights asset-backed security. This marked HSM’s second ABS transaction, appraising the assets from the previous fund’s catalog, coupled with an added $700 million in liabilities, at roughly $2.3 billion. Funds acquired through the ABS will be utilized to pay down Hipgnosis’ current debt, transaction costs, and establish a reserve fund, among other uses. 

Private equity firm KKR has been active in the music sector for years, notably in collaboration with BMG on catalog acquisitions between 2009 and 2013 and from 2021 to now. While catalogs performed well, substantial investments are currently flowing into live music. In a post-pandemic climate with ever-increasing ticket prices, the concert sector represents a phenomenal opportunity for an investment behemoth managing $190 billion in assets, seeking solid returns. Founded in 2017 by Providence Equity Partners and James Barton, founder of the Liverpool nightclub Cream, Superstruct organizes events such as Budapest’s Sziget music festival and Wacken Open Air, the world’s largest heavy metal festival in Germany. KKR agreed to purchase Providence’s share in Superstruct in June for approximately €1.3 billion ($1.39 billion).

While Queen’s peers capitalized on a booming market for classic rock catalogs, the British band notably held back. At the same time, the Oscar-winning 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody reignited interest in the group’s music, allowing tracks like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Radio Ga Ga” to defy the typical decline in music popularity over time. The patience proved rewarding: Had the film only been a moderate success, Queen would have still received a significant offer for their music rights. Instead, its extraordinary success brought Rami Malek an Oscar for his performance as Freddie Mercury and established it as the highest-grossing music biopic ever. From a rights holder’s perspective, the movie achieved its goals, acting as a “turbocharger” (as described by Billboard’s Ed Christman) for Queen’s catalog, elevating it beyond temporary boosts. Thus, Sony Music notably invested $1.27 billion for Queen’s recorded music and publishing rights, the largest sum ever paid for an artist’s catalog.  

As interest rates surged following the pandemic, music companies enthusiastic about catalog deals began to raise substantial funds through asset-backed securities. With an ABS, a music organization can consolidate assets such as music publishing and recorded music catalogs, selling notes secured by the royalties generated by these assets. One of the significant ABS deals occurred in October when Concord raised $850 million through an existing ABS that grew to $5.1 billion after acquiring Round Hill Music Royalty Fund and Mojo Music. This most recent ABS is backed by the royalties produced from publishing, recorded music, and associated assets by artists including Carrie Underwood, Genesis, Phil Collins, R.E.M., and Creed. The funds obtained were earmarked for the redemption of $500 million from a series of notes issued in 2023 and for acquiring about $217 million worth of assets to reintegrate into the ABS’s collateral pool.

A $600 million investment at a $1.2 billion valuation isn’t the largest catalog deal of the year. However, in 2024, Michael Jackson didn’t dominate the headlines. (Refer to Queen above.) Nevertheless, the staggering figure paid by Sony Music for the King of Pop’s recorded music and publishing catalog is only half of the story — literally. Sony invested $600 million to acquire 50% of Jackson’s music rights, estimating the total value of the catalog above $1.2 billion (and potential valuations reaching $1.5 billion, according to some estimates). The agreement excluded royalties stemming from Broadway shows and other theatrical adaptations using Jackson’s music. While the Jackson estate was overshadowed by Queen’s tale, the superstar’s remaining half interest could increase significantly in the upcoming years. The music catalog, highlighted by the record-setting album Thriller, is anticipated to experience a surge in royalties in 2025 with the release of a Jackson biopic, Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer trilogy), which is currently scheduled to premiere in October 2025. 

In March, HarborView Equity Partners sourced $500 million through an asset-backed security underpinned by global investment firm KKR. “This capital will facilitate our commitment to investing in assets and companies propelled by premier intellectual property while ensuring that creators are justly compensated for their contributions,” said CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares at the time. In the ensuing months, HarbourView invested in independent studio Mucho Mas Media and acquired the rights to works from singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy and producer-songwriter Noel Zancanella. The Newark, N.J.-based enterprise is also funding a film about hip-hop pioneer Queen Latifah.  

Pink Floyd’s long-anticipated, frequently deferred catalog agreement, initially reported by Billboard in 2022, finally came to fruition in 2024 due to — or perhaps in spite of — the band members’ notoriously tumultuous relationships that hindered progress. Each band member reportedly engaged individual legal representation for the deal, explaining the extended duration until October for Sony Music to acquire a recorded music catalog that had been actively marketed for over two years. For any prospective buyer, however, securing a piece of this iconic psychedelic rock band is well worth the wait. The $400 million agreement encompasses a timeless recorded music catalog that includes the albums The Wall and The Dark Side of the Moon, as well as rights to their name, image, and likeness, excluding music publishing assets.  

This February, Universal Music Group allocated $240 million for a 26% interest in Dundee Partners’ catalog acquisition organization, Chord Music. This innovative arrangement means that the largest music business globally now oversees the distribution and publishing management for Chord’s 60,000 copyrights, while UMG can count on its Chord partners for assistance in financing catalog purchases, thus conserving its own capital. Upcoming catalog acquisitions will be housed in Chord, which was valued at $1.85 billion after UMG’s investment. The public-private partnership — which is 74% owned by Dundee Partners, a family office led by Sam Hendel and John Chapman — has drawn the interest of Warner Music Group as a potential model for optimizing capital management for catalog acquisitions. Chord’s assets encompass the catalog of “Halo” and “Rumour Has It” co-writer Ryan Tedder, in addition to a stake in John Legend’s “All Of Me.”