Opus Music Groupwhich owns a stake in the rights and revenue streams of late rapper Juice WRLD, is putting its portfolio up for sale as the market conditions that fueled the music copyright gold rush ease.
Opus is seeking about $200 million for the package of mostly passive income and royalty streaming rights, according to three sources familiar with the deal. Working with Raine Group bankers, the group has been bidding for several months, two of the sources said.
After a dramatic run in the investment and song catalog management market, persistently high interest rates and a rebound in the broader market are prompting some, such as Opus, to cash out, one of the sources said.
New York-based Opus launched in 2021 with the backing of activist investor Elliott Investment Management. In 2022, Opus bought a majority stake in the rights and income streams of late rapper Juice WRLD in a nine-figure deal. Advertising sign reported at the time. Opus' portfolio also includes works and recordings by Rauw Alejandro and Maluma, according to its website. Advertising sign could not fully identify the rights that Opus owns or sells.
Representatives for Opus and Raine Group did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Elliott declined to comment.
Advertising sign was unable to independently assess the Opus catalogue. However, according to a source familiar with the deal, Opus' catalog had $16 million in net publisher share, and at the time the deal was made, Juice WRLD's rights had at least $9 million in annual royalties — publishing and artist royalties combined — according to another source.
Starting in 2015, a wave of investors sparked a dramatic rise in the market for artists' catalogs, song rights, copyrights and income streams, with rights to works by Smokey Robinson, Bruce Springsteen, Shakira and Justin Bieber sold to both established companies such as Primary Wave. and the big companies, as well as new players like Hipgnosis. However, in the years since, market dynamics have changed. Interest rates have remained unexpectedly high, making it expensive to finance further catalog acquisitions, and the yield on U.S. Treasuries and other fixed asset classes has rebounded, making IP music's steady returns less of a standout for yield-hungry investors.
“When the frenzy started, there weren't really a lot of great places to go for performance,” he says Michael Bizenov, president of Sound Royalties, which specializes in financing royalties to music clients such as Dominican rapper and debut star El Alfa. “This was a place where you could find performance. As you have performance opportunities in other places, the people who were there as a commodity will stop and be reallocated.”
Investors, industry lawyers and bankers said music rights remain an attractive and stable asset class for those with a long-term appetite. However, these sources said, they expect a wave of consolidation to hit investment firms as firms backed by financial industry investors seek to securitize or exit by 2027.
“There's still a strong market for selling IP music, but those who were in it because everyone else was in it are getting out,” Bizenov says.
Additional reporting by Ed Christman.
