Primary Wave is an acquisitive publishing company led by its CEO and founder, Larry Mestel.
Mestel founded the company in New York in 2006, launching with a deal agreed with Courtney Love to acquire 50% of Kurt Cobain’s song catalog.
Primary Wave then bought interests in the works of John Lennon, Steven Tyler, Lamont Dozier and others.
In 2013, Mestel sold Primary Wave’s catalog to BMG in a $150 million deal.
In 2016, Mestel re-started Primary Wave via a $300 million acquisition fund, whose investors were led by Black Rock.
In 2019, Primary Wave confirmed that it had raised over $500 million in a second fund, taking its total spending power since Mestel re-launched the firm to over $800 million.
Since 2016, Primary Wave has acquired substantial interests in the song catalogs of icons such as Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Smokey Robinson and the Four Seasons.
In addition to being a music publisher, Primary Wave also runs a talent management division, representing artists including Melissa Etheridge.Music Business Worldwide