New York-based independent publisher Round Hill Music, which has been busy making acquisitions over the last few years, has closed a second funding round worth $263m.
The fund will finance further acquisitions of individual catalogs from songwriters, artists and smaller independent music publishers.
Last week, Round Hill officially closed its purchase of Carlin Music in a deal that was believed to be in the region of $240m.
The deal brought over 100,000 copyrights to private equity-backed Round Hill, including classics made famous by the likes of Elvis Presley (pictured), Meatloaf, James Brown, AC/DC and Billie Holliday.
Last year, the firm acquired a stake in music supervision agency Zync Music and bought the rights to a valuable run of ‘80s hard rock catalogues, including music by Triumph, Jani Lee and Tesla.
In 2016, the firm partially acquired the catalogue of Dallas Davidson, and inked a go-forward agreement with his publishing entity Play It Again Publishing.
All of the above were paid for through Round Hill’s first fund, which launched in 2012 and raised over $200 million in equity commitments.
To date, it has spent over $250m on music rights, including publishing, master recordings and neighboring rights, and has generated over $55 million in royalty income since inception.
Discussing the second fund, Joshua Gruss, Chief Executive Officer of Round Hill, said: “I am pleased with the strong level of support we have received from both new and existing investors in Round Hill Music Royalty Fund II.
“Our business has been successful due to the tireless work of our highly experienced management team, deep institutional approach, high level of GP commitment and robust internal platform to collect, license and administer music royalties.”
joshua gruss, round hill
“Our business has been successful due to the tireless work of our highly experienced management team, deep institutional approach, high level of GP commitment and robust internal platform to collect, license and administer music royalties.”
Neil Gillis, President, added: “Since inception, Round Hill has made over 100 investments and acquired approximately $465 million of music copyright assets, demonstrating our strong track record of executing deals and adding value, which is appealing to both investors and the music marketplace.
“Our hands-on approach, passion for music, value-add capabilities like with Zync Powered by Round Hill, Round Hill Nashville and our other internal divisions serve to make Round Hill the music rights company of choice for songwriters and other sellers of copyrights.”
Richard Rowe, Vice Chairman, added: “With Fund I we created what is today the highest quality independently owned collection of music rights in the world. We look forward to repeating that success with Fund II.”
The portfolio of Fund I includes songs recorded by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Bruno Mars, Tim McGraw, Aerosmith, N Sync, Pat Benatar, The Four Tops, James Taylor, Marvin Gaye, The Offspring, Bush, Warrant, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and American Authors, among many others.
Carlin Music contains hit songs such as “What A Wonderful World”, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”, “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”, “Santa Baby”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Christmas (Baby Please Come home)”, “Jailhouse Rock”, “La Bamba” and many more.
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