We met with our synch people and said, “Focus on advertising right now because there’s no more film and television productions happening, and take this time to refresh the catalog so when we come out of this pandemic it will be even better.” The stats showed that Spotify and Apple were going through the roof. We spent a lot of time working with Joe and the whole team to get a handle on the business. People weren’t listening to the radio initially, no new television productions. We put it all to the side, and we said, “We’ve got to focus on Spirit right now,” because we didn’t know what the shutdown meant. Ross and I were out there working on some deals.
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Now you’re dealing with a global economic shutdown.
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Jon Singer: COVID-19 hits, and people go into lockdown. Singer and Spirit Music Group COO/CFO Joe Borrino - formerly CFO of Island Def Jam Music Group and CFO of Roc Nation - discuss the company’s future and why music is the “sexiest” investment today. office’s increased involvement in production music. (The deal does not cover Mann’s copyrights but does include representation of Christian Medice and David Schuler, who have written for P!nk, Halsey, Cher and John Legend.) These deals dovetailed with Singer’s expansion of Spirit’s investment in country and Latin music, as well as the U.K. In October, Spirit entered a deal with producer-songwriter Billy Mann to administer his publishing company Green & Bloom/ Topline. Spirit has also moved further into the acquisition of master recordings, with a deal that includes publishing rights and masters from Ingrid Michaelson, a stake in some of Tim McGraw’s masters and expanded representation of Bolan’s master and publishing rights. In recent months, Spirit has signed deals with writer-producers Christopher “Tricky” Stewart (Beyoncé, Justin Bieber), Gregg Wattenberg (Train, Daughtry), Kara DioGuardi (P!nk, Carrie Underwood) and British songwriter-producer Nick Gale (Dua Lipa, Louis Tomlinson). The company has also signed a number of top contemporary writers, even during the pandemic.
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'Truck Yeah': Spirit Music Group Acquires Some of Tim McGraw's Master Recordings Rex frontman Marc Bolan, Boz Scaggs, Henry Mancini, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and Graham Nash. Among its copyrights are songs written by The Who’s Pete Townshend, late T. The New York-based independent publisher - which employs 62 staffers worldwide with offices in London, Los Angeles, Nashville, Miami and the Netherlands - has a 100,000-song collection that includes shares in over 200 No. The way forward combines expansion into emerging markets, with a continued focus on catalog acquisition.Īt a time when publishers are acquiring other companies, Singer, a former senior label executive at Island Records, Island Def Jam and Decca Label Group who has been at Spirit since 2011, says, “We decided we’re buyers, not sellers.” He and Cameron raised $350 million with private equity partners to form Lyric Capital Group with Spirit as its first investment, buying out majority owner Pegasus Capital Advisors’ stake and retiring $50 million in debt. Spirit Music Group chairman Jon Singer and his team have a mantra: “250,000 song copyrights and a valuation of $1 billion.” As the company celebrates its 25th anniversary, it is on a solid path to reach those goals, due to a smart business plan bolstered by a 2019 recapitalization and buyout by Singer and Ross Cameron, the co-founding partner of Lyric Capital Group.