The Ins and Outs of Music Catalog Sales, Explained by the Experts
Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicFor this week’s edition of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast. we’re bringing you a panel discussion from the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on May 4.Titled “Drop the Mic: The Business of Music,” I was joined on stage by four incredibly knowledgable music industry professionals (pictured, from left): Marc Cimino, chief operating officer of Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG); Sherrese Clarke Soares, founder and CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners; Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and a noted songwriter and producer who’s worked with the likes of Whitney Houston, Elton John and Justin Bieber; and Scott Pascucci, CEO of Concord and a Grammy-winning producer for the Ron Howard-directed 2016 documentary, “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.” On the agenda: the booming business of catalog sales, which has seen the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon cash out for paydays in the hundreds of millions of dollars and multiples of more than 20 times current market value.Indeed, In 2021, investors spent $5.3 billion on acquisitions of recorded music catalogs, publishing and other royalties.