HarbourView Equity Partners, the investment firm founded and headed by Sherrese Clarke Soares, has announced its latest acquisition: The “select publishing assets” of country star Kane Brown.
Although the firm bills itself as a “global alternative asset management company” that focuses on investments in entertainment and media, the two-year-old company seems to have developed a penchant for the country music genre, noting that its deal with Kane Brown marks the expansion of its “already profound footprint in the country music space”.
Since its launch in 2021, the Newark, New Jersey-headquartered firm has acquired the publishing catalogs of Grammy-winning country stars Lady A and Brad Paisley, as well as Big Loud Mountain Music’s publisher share of certain songs from country duo Florida Georgia Line.
Brown became a social media phenomenon in the early 2010s when he began sharing covers of songs by Alan Jackson, Brantley Gilbert and Billy Currington, among others, on Facebook. In 2014 he went viral with his single Don’t Go City On Me, and followed that up with an EP, Closer, and the hit track Used To Love You Sober in 2015. His major label debut – the EP Chapter 1 – came in 2016 after he signed with RCA Nashville.
Since then, Brown has firmly planted himself in the annals of country music, racking up numerous hits including Homesick, Like I Love Country Music and Lose It. Two of his hits – One Thing Right and Be Like That – had enough crossover appeal to spend roughly five months each on the Billboard Hot 100.
Brown has clocked a number of country-music firsts, including being the first artist to top all five Billboard Country charts simultaneously, and the first male country artist to take the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards. His awards include five American Music Awards (AMA), five Country Music Television (CMT) awards and an Academy of Country Music award.
“Kane is a special talent, and we are excited to be on the journey.”
Sherrese Clarke Soares
“I’m grateful to Sherrese and HarbourView for their belief in my songwriting catalog. These songs that I’ve written are very meaningful to my fans and my career,” Brown said in a statement.
“Partnering with someone like Kane who adds such a beautiful texture to the country genre is consistent with who we are as a firm,” Soares, HarbourView’s CEO, added. “Kane is a special talent, and we are excited to be on the journey.”
Fox Rothschild LLP served as legal counsel to HarbourView in the deal, while Brown was represented by Jess L. Rosen at Greenberg Traurig LLP. The value of the transaction wasn’t disclosed.
Soares, who was formerly the CEO of acquisition fund Tempo Music Investments, launched HarbourView in 2021 with up to USD $1 billion in backing from Apollo Global Management.
Since then, the asset management firm has built up a catalog of approximately 24,000 songs across both master recordings and publishing income streams.
This portfolio of titles spans numerous eras and genres that go well beyond what HarbourView describes as its “profound” presence in country music.
It acquired the publishing catalog of Latin music superstar Luis Fonsi, of Despacito fame, in early 2022, and this summer it acquired a portion of rapper Nelly’s catalog for $50 million.
It followed that up quickly with the acquisition of “select recorded music and publishing assets” of hip hop star Wiz Khalifa. According to TMZ, that deal was also worth $50 million, and gave HarbourView a 50% stake in Wiz Khalifa’s entire catalog.
“I’m grateful to Sherrese and HarbourView for their belief in my songwriting catalog. These songs that I’ve written are very meaningful to my fans and my career.”
Kane Brown
More recently, HarbourView struck a deal with the estate of the late Christine McVie to acquire her share of Fleetwood Mac’s recorded music royalties. McVie’s contributions to the iconic 1970s and 80s band’s repertoire included the hits You Make Loving Fun and Don’t Stop, as well as the piano ballad Songbird.
Also this fall, HarbourView acquired a selection of recorded music and publishing rights from rocker Patricia Mae Giraldo, better known as Pat Benatar, and her music partner and husband Neil Giraldo. The pair have sold over 30 million records worldwide and have won four Grammy awards.
In all, HarbourView has acquired more than 45 music catalogs to date.Music Business Worldwide
