Blackstone (NYSE:BX)
According to the Financial Times, which cited five people with knowledge of the situation, Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is one of the potential buyers of Pink Floyd’s back library in a deal that might value the band’s songs at close to $500 million. The Pink Floyd acquisition may be worth more than all of HSC’s current holdings combined, demonstrating the company’s commitment to the industry despite rising interest rates making such deals less alluring.
The FT said that the catalog is also being sought by KKR (NYSE:KKR)-backed BMG, Warner Music (NASDAQ:WMG), Sony Music (NYSE:SONY), and Oaktree-funded Primary Wave.
Roger Waters and David Gilmour were the creative forces behind Pink Floyd in their early days, but once Waters left the group in the 1980s, the two have been at odds ever since, even getting into a dispute over the use of the band’s name.
Merck Mercuriadis, the former manager of Elton John, launched Hipgnosis Song Management, which Blackstone (BX) invested in last year. Through this cooperation, Blackstone’s funds would initially contribute about $1 billion to buy music rights and catalogs. The private equity company created Hipgnosis Songs Capital after investing in HSM, and it has already acquired $341 million worth of Justin Timberlake, Nile Rodgers, Leonard Cohen, Nelly Furtado, and Kenny Chesney back catalogs.
Pink Floyd is reportedly looking to raise at least GBP 400 million ($472 million) for the copyrights to its songs, which include rock anthems like “Another Brick in the Wall” and “Comfortably Numb.”
Bruce Springsteen’s recording masters and music publishing were purchased by Sony (SONY) for almost $500M last year, according to Billboard. Universal Music purchased Bob Dylan’s discography in 2020.
According to Bloomberg, the field of prospective buyers for the Pink Floyd catalog had been reduced to four, with Warner Music Group (WMG), BMG, and Sony Music Entertainment being the remaining contenders (SONY).
Featured Image: Megapixl @Rafaelhenriquepress
Author Jowi Kwasu 
