With three offers coming in at greater than $1 billion, not even Taylor Swift’s masters buy managed to crack the mid-year listing.
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What the largest music trade offers of 2025 lacked in star energy, they made up for in sheer measurement: The highest 5 transactions introduced within the first half of the 12 months embrace three objects over $1 billion, with the smallest coming in at $450 million. Notably, the listing doesn’t embrace the starriest deal of the 12 months thus far: Taylor Swift’s buy of her Big Machine master recordings. Swift’s reclamation of her first six albums attracted extra media consideration than another music enterprise deal thus far this 12 months, however with a smaller price ticket than the highest 5, it’s left to vie for a spot on the year-ending high 10 (or extra) listing.
Final 12 months, music corporations made numerous noteworthy acquisitions, together with Sony Music’s buy of Queen’s catalog for $1.27 billion; Common Music Group’s offers for [PIAS] and Downtown Music Holdings (which hasn’t closed and is being reviewed by the European Fee); Blackstone’s $1.6-billion acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Fund; and New Mountain Capital’s buy of BMI for between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion. The dwell sector was additionally lively, with Legends choosing up ASM International from AEG for $2.3 billion and KKR shopping for Superstruct for $1.39 billion.
Missing super-sized catalog acquisitions, Billboard’s listing of the most important offers introduced within the first half of 2025 is as an alternative dominated by fundraising to allow the acquisition of music rights. Two of the 5 offers contain asset-backed securities (ABSs), a sort of debt that enables an proprietor of huge, diversified music catalogs to finance its borrowings with royalties from its catalogs and which has turn out to be increasingly common within the music enterprise. A number of corporations have raised cash by way of ABSs since 2022, together with Harmony, Kobalt, Hipgnosis Music Administration, HarbourView Fairness Companions, Chord Music Companions and Influence Media.
Aside from Swift’s buy of her masters, there have been quite a few different noteworthy catalog offers that fell wanting making the highest 5. Sony Music Publishing acquired Hipgnosis Songs Group for an undisclosed quantity that Billboard nonetheless believes is safely under the edge to make this listing. And in March, Create Music Group acquired the catalogs of deadmau5 and his label, mau5trap, adopted in April by its buy of indie electronic label !K7.
Take a look at the highest 5 offers from the primary half of 2025 under.
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Harmony Is Elevating $1.65 Billion in an Asset-Backed Safety
Harmony has turn out to be an outdated professional at using ABSs to fund its acquisition and progress technique. The Nashville-based firm closed ABS offers price $1.8 million in 2022, $500 million in 2023 — enabling the $469 million purchase of Spherical Hill Music Royalty Fund in 2023 — and $800 million in 2024. The seo ABS, which is managed by Atlas SP Securities, will repay the $1.7 billion excellent from the 2022 ABS and fund different common company functions, in response to reports. The deal was introduced in late June however isn’t anticipated to shut till July 30. “We’ve very a lot favored the capital construction that allowed us to comparatively simply draw new debt for brand new acquisitions,” CFO Kent Hoskins told Billboard in 2024.
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Pophouse Raises $1.3 Billion for Catalog Acquisitions
In March, Pophouse, the Swedish agency behind the profitable ABBA Voyage performances in London, announced it raised $1.3 billion to accumulate music catalogs and create experiences round these rights. The fundraise consisted of $1.08 billion raised by way of a non-public fairness fund and $216 million raised by way of devoted co-investment autos. On the time of the announcement, Pophouse had already spent roughly 30% of the fund on partnerships associated to the rights of KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia. Precisely how Pophouse makes use of its rights — which generally embrace title and likeness — will differ by mission, however every acquisition comes with a plan to create extra hardcore followers. “If I can improve an act’s superfans from 5% to six% [of all fans], the entire streams will go up 10%, which means the worth of the catalog will go up 10%,” CEO Per Sundin explained to Billboard in Might.
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Warner Music Group Establishes $1.2 Billion Partnership With Bain Capital
Main labels have a hearty urge for food for main catalog acquisitions, however generally they want different folks’s cash to fund big-dollar transactions. Up to now, Eldridge Industries partnered with Sony Music to accumulate Bruce Springsteen’s publishing catalog, and Shamrock Capital joined with Universal Music Group for Dr. Dre’s music revenue streams and different belongings, to call simply two. Then, on July 1 (technically a day after the primary half of 2025 ended), Warner Music Group (WMG) announced a partnership with Bain Capital for a $1.2 billion three way partnership to accumulate high-profile recorded music and publishing catalogs. The 2 companions will share duties to establish and safe catalogs, whereas WMG will deal with advertising, distribution and rights administration. Goldman Sachs and Fifth Third Financial institution will function joint lead arrangers for the three way partnership.
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HarbourView Fairness Companions Raises $500 Million in an Asset-Backed Safety
HarbourView’s second ABS in as many years introduced in $500 million to assist the corporate pursue alternatives in media, sports activities and leisure. The Newark-based agency has centered on music rights since launching in 2021, shopping for greater than 70 catalogs that span genres. It has additionally invested broadly, taking stakes in manufacturing corporations MACRO and Mucho Mas Media and financing hip-hop biopics for Westbrook Studios, Taste Unit and Jesse Collins Leisure. Barclays structured the transaction and, together with KKR Capital Markets, acted as the location agent. Fifth Third Financial institution and Nationwide Affiliation served as passive placement brokers.
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Warner Music Group Acquires Majority Stake in Tempo Music Investments for $450 Million
WMG’s take care of Bain isn’t the corporate’s first partnership with a monetary associate. In February, WMG introduced it took a majority stake in Tempo, leaving founder Windfall Fairness Companions with a minority place. WMG’s authorized advisor on the deal was Sidley; for Tempo and Windfall, Moelis & Firm was the monetary advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as authorized advisor. Tempo was fashioned in 2019 by Windfall Fairness Companions, which on the time had over $45 billion in belongings beneath administration, with WMG taking a minority place. Tempo was initially funded by $650 million in fairness and debt capability, however in response to its web site, the three way partnership has spent greater than $1 billion to this point on the catalogs of such artists as Wiz Khalifa, Florida Georgia Line, songwriter Brett James and Frank Ocean collaborator Malay.