James Arthur, one of the artists whose works are part of Raven Music’s initial catalog. Photo Credit: Harald Krichel
Aquarian and Raven Capital are officially partnering to get in on the song-rights action with a newly launched “music-only” JV called Raven Music Partners.
Reps for the involved parties reached out with word of Raven Music Partners, which is said to have offices in New York, LA, and South Florida. Founded by former Guggenheim VP Rudy Sahay, Aquarian says it has close to $22 billion in AUM across its “strategic portfolio of insurance and asset management solutions.”
Now, this portfolio is expanding into the music world, with eight-year-old Aquarian serving as the catalog joint venture’s “anchor investor.” The Open Road Films parent Raven, for its part, isn’t a stranger to the music space, having established Endurance Music Group in Nashville a decade ago.
At the intersection of those points, Raven Music Partners’ investment strategy is “seeded” with some 15,000 music assets spanning a variety of genres. That includes works recorded by Morgan Wallen, Meghan Trainor, and James Arthur, to name a few.
And moving forward, Endurance will continue tapping “into the close-knit music community for new opportunities to partner with songwriters, artists, music managers, indie publishers, indie labels, and other industry participants,” Aquarian and Raven relayed of their all-encompassing gameplan.
While Raven Music Partners (and the companies behind it) didn’t come right out and disclose its funding in the formal release, reps confirmed a $250 million music IP tranche to DMN.
“Aquarian recognized a compelling opportunity in a crowded music royalties’ sector,” added Aquarian founder Rudy Sahay, “attracted by the predictable cash flow and the uncorrelated nature of music rights to broader macroeconomic trends.
“Aquarian is particularly drawn to Raven Music Partners for its disciplined investment approach, differentiated sourcing capabilities, and extensive relationship base within Nashville and the broader music ecosystem,” the 54 Madison Partners co-founder concluded.
Lastly, regarding the catalog purchaser’s organizational specifics, Raven Capital co-founder Jeremy Tucker is serving as the newer entity’s managing member. In remarks of his own, Tucker touted Raven Music Partners as “the buyer of choice for many songwriters and artists.”
Though it probably goes without saying – and as Sahay noted – Raven Music Partners certainly has some competition here. Indie-focused Duetti announced $200 million in fresh debt funding (and expanded its investment strategy beyond recordings) earlier this week, for instance, and Deadmau5 inked a reportedly $55 million IP pact with Create Music Group.
Meanwhile, if the figures disclosed by anonymous sources prove accurate and the deals actually come to fruition, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ recordings and Notorious B.I.G.’s entire catalog could soon sell at a combined valuation of around $650 million.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.