Temasek said to be interested in Blackstone’s $4b sale of Bob Dylan, Adele song rights

Los Angeles – Blackstone has hired financial advisers to explore the sale of song rights, including music from Bob Dylan, Adele and Ariana Grande, that it expects to fetch US$3 billion (S$4.1 billion) or more, people with knowledge of the matter said.

A handful of financial companies, including Singapore’s Temasek, Apollo Global Management and Warburg Pincus have expressed interest in the assets, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. There is no guarantee the parties will reach a deal.

Blackstone, one of the world’s biggest asset managers, is testing what has been a frothy market for so-called performance rights. The company owns a portfolio of businesses led by Sesac, which collects royalties for thousands of songwriters.

Sesac, originally called the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, licenses music for public performances, such as that used in shows like Grey’s Anatomy, NBC’s Dateline and Seinfeld.

Potential buyers reached out to Blackstone a few months ago after the private equity giant TPG sold its interest in Global Music Rights (GMR), another performance rights group, in a deal valued at US$3.3 billion.

Blackstone is looking for similar valuation terms to be applied to Sesac, said the people, though they cautioned the price might be too high for some buyers.

Blackstone declined to comment, as did Apollo, Warburg and Temasek. Billboard reported in December that the company had received expressions of interest.

Blackstone bought Sesac in 2017 in a deal that valued the company at about US$1 billion. The holdings also include the Harry Fox Agency and smaller providers of music services such as Audiam.

Sesac is run by Mr John Josephson, a former banker at Allen & Company.

Valuations in the music business have soared in the years since then as the popularity of streaming boosted industry sales. Global recorded music revenue has more than doubled over the last decade, reaching US$28.6 billion in 2023, according to an industry trade group.

Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, went public in 2021 and is currently valued at about US$46 billion. 

Financial companies continue to look for new ways to invest in music. They have pumped money into catalogues, distribution, service providers and performance rights organisations.

In July, Blackstone acquired Hipgnosis, an owner of music catalogues, for US$1.6 billion. A year earlier, private equity firm New Mountain Capital paid a reported US$1.7 billion for BMI, one of the largest performance rights groups.

Performing rights organisations such as BMI, GMR and Sesac historically collected songwriters’ royalties from radio stations but have since begun to collect revenue from streaming as well. BLOOMBERG