Olivier Chastan’s acquisition vehicle Iconoclast has acquired again.
This time, it’s snapped up the music publishing catalog of Lady Gaga co-writer and producer Nick Monson, who Iconoclast says “has contributed to a bevy of widely successful modern pop hits”.
Monson co-wrote and produced Lady Gaga’s third album Artpop, including the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 smash hit Applause, which charted in the Top 10 in more than 20 countries worldwide, Nick Monson
He followed his success with Lady Gaga by writing, producing, and collaborating with artists including the likes of Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Rag’n’Bone Man, Little Mix, Anne-Marie, and Julia Michaels.
In 2019, Monson continued to collaborate with Lady Gaga, producing and co-writing a bulk of the A Star Is Born soundtrack, which topped the charts in more than 20 countries, received Gold and Platinum certifications, and took home four of the seven Grammy Awards it was nominated for.
The catalog includes hit songs such as Human for Rag’n’Bone Man, which was used for a 2023 Super Bowl Commercial, Good For You (featuring A$AP Rocky) and Nobody for Selena Gomez, Home for Nick Jonas, Invitation and Just Like Me for Britney Spears, and The Cure, Applause, and many more for Lady Gaga.
Founded in 2021 and led by veteran music executive Olivier Chastan, Iconoclast says that it “operates at the intersection of brand management and technology to preserve and grow the intellectual property and legacy of culturally significant artists”.
Last month, Iconoclast acquired the catalog of Mad Decent Publishing, co-founded by DJ and producer Diplo and Kevin Kusastsu.
In July 2022, veteran music executive and producer Irv Gotti (Irving Lorenzo), the founder of rap label Murder Inc, sold a stake in his master recordings to Iconoclast in a deal worth $300 million.
Olivier Chastan was previously CEO at Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, which last year acquired catalogs from the likes of the Beach Boys, David Crosby, and Linda Ronstadt.
The US-based French executive quietly launched Iconoclast in fall 2021, and, speaking with MBW in February 2022, said that the company had completed five separate music rights acquisitions since then.
Iconoclast’s founder added that his new acquisition vehicle has a “strong focus on technology”, including immersive entertainment and blockchain, and added that, “we want to drive the conversion to make legacy artists relevant in the future of entertainment”.
MBW’s sources tell us that Iconoclast is being backed by Pimco, which has over $2 trillion in assets under management. Chastan refused to comment on that suggestion while speaking with MBW in February 2022.
Ken Kraus and Devon Spencer of Loeb & Loeb, LLP represented Iconoclast, and Gillian Bar of Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Bar & Karalian, LLP, as well as Hannah Babitt of BABZ Inc and Mike Merriman and Megan Goodrich of PARR3 LLC represented Nick Monson in the transaction.Music Business Worldwide
