The creation of the JV is claimed to be, “by value, one of the largest music rights deals ever transacted”.<\/p>\n
The Financial Times<\/em> reports<\/a> that the deal is worth more than USD $1 billion<\/strong> \u2013 and that the “rights will be sold into a joint venture with UK-based Cutting Edge” \u2013 with the latter company “acquiring part of the portfolio and managing the assets”.<\/p>\n Co-investing in the transaction, alongside Cutting Edge, is Germany-based DWS Group, <\/strong>which\u00a0reports<\/a> having EUR \u20ac963 billion ($997bn)<\/strong> in assets under management as of September 30, 2024.<\/p>\n The Warner Bros. Discovery <\/strong>catalog,<\/em> which spans almost 100<\/strong> years of copyrights, contains more than 400,000<\/strong> compositions and song cues, including\u00a0 “some of the most recognized theme songs and scores in television and movie history”.<\/p>\n The\u00a0<\/strong>library includes music from the Harry Potter<\/strong> and Lord of the Rings<\/strong> franchises, DC Comics movies, as well as TV shows such as Friends<\/i>,\u00a0Game of Thrones<\/i>,\u00a0The Big Bang Theory, Two and Half Men, Succession,<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0The White Lotus<\/i>.<\/p>\n Other films and TV series represented in the portfolio include Rebel Without a Cause, The Exorcist, A Star is Born,\u00a0Blade Runner,\u00a0Shawshank Redemption,\u00a0The West Wing, ER, Full House, Sex and The City\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Gossip Girl.<\/i><\/p>\n According to the companies’ announcement, WBD and CEG will “focus on maximizing the distribution and revenue potential of the music portfolio”.<\/p>\n Warner Bros. Discovery<\/strong> says it will retain creative and operational control of the music rights.<\/p>\n The compositions from the Warner Brothers, HBO and Turner Networks catalogs will continue to be administered by Universal Music Publishing Group<\/strong>, while those from the Discovery\/Scripps Networks catalog will remain under the administration of Sony Music Publishing.<\/strong><\/p>\n The deal arrives two years after Warner Bros. Discovery was first reported to be exploring a sale<\/a> of its library of film and TV music in a deal that would value the catalog at over $1 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n In April last year, Cutting Edge Group completed<\/a> a USD $500 million <\/strong>debt refinancing with a syndicate of four banks led by US-based Fifth Third Bank and Toronto-headquartered private investment firm, Northleaf Capital Partners.<\/p>\n Cutting Edge said at the time that it had already identified a \u201ccirca USD $1.5 billion<\/strong> pipeline\u201d of potential investments.<\/p>\n “Together with CEG, we can find new and exciting ways to entertain a new generation of fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Broucek, Warner Bros. Discovery<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Commenting on the deal with Cutting Edge, Paul Broucek, President, Music, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: \u201c<\/b>This partnership with CEG is the perfect way to expand access to our unparalleled music library while honoring our long history of strong creative oversight and protecting the integrity of the works and artists.<\/p>\n “Together with CEG, we can find new and exciting ways to entertain a new generation of fans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis truly is an iconic assembly of catalogs created over almost a century by one of Hollywood\u2019s original studios and to have the opportunity to invest in and manage this JV alongside WBD is an incredibly exciting prospect for us.”<\/p>\n Philip Moross, Cutting Edge Group<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Philip<\/strong> Moross<\/strong>, CEO of Cutting Edge Group, added:\u00a0\u201cThis truly is an iconic assembly of catalogs created over almost a century by one of Hollywood\u2019s original studios and to have the opportunity to invest in and manage this JV alongside WBD is an incredibly exciting prospect for us.<\/p>\n “This special partnership with Warner Bros. is the culmination of many years work on the part of our team at Cutting Edge and is a strong endorsement of our early conviction and specialist expertise in this area of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCutting Edge is singularly placed to participate in a transaction of this nature, which is a testament to the strength and skill of our team, led by Tim Hegarty, our Head of M&A and Corporate Strategy.”<\/p>\n Tara Finegan, Cutting Edge Group<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Tara<\/strong> Finegan<\/strong>, COO of\u00a0Cutting\u00a0Edge\u00a0Group, added:\u00a0\u201cCutting\u00a0Edge\u00a0is singularly placed to participate in a transaction of this nature, which is a testament to the strength and skill of our team, led by Tim Hegarty, our Head of M&A and Corporate Strategy.<\/p>\n “We are looking forward to working closely with our friends at Warner Bros. to grow the value that this irreplaceable portfolio already holds, while bringing the magic of these compositions to even more audiences around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n “This transaction exemplifies our strategy of delivering flexible and tailored capital solutions that empower asset owners and management teams to execute their vision with speed, certainty and control.\u201d<\/p>\n Vlado Spasov, DWS Group<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Vlado<\/strong> Spasov<\/strong>, Head of Capital Solutions at DWS Group, said:\u00a0\u201cWe are proud to join forces with\u00a0Cutting\u00a0Edge\u00a0and invest in partnership with Warner Bros in this strategic joint venture.<\/p>\n “This transaction exemplifies our strategy of delivering flexible and tailored capital solutions that empower asset owners and management teams to execute their vision with speed, certainty and control.\u201d<\/p>\n Founded in 2006, London-based Cutting Edge has been a prominent\u00a0buyer\u00a0of film and TV music rights over the past few years.<\/p>\n In 2022, it\u00a0partnered with<\/a>\u00a0affiliates of London-based Blantyre Capital in a deal that secured\u00a0$125 million<\/strong>\u00a0for acquisitions of music publishing rights from composers who write music for film and TV.<\/p>\n In February 2023, Cutting Edge secured<\/a>\u00a0another\u00a0$100 million<\/strong>\u00a0from banks led by Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners.<\/p>\n Also in February 2023 the company announced a joint venture<\/a>\u00a0with Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, parent company of Village Roadshow Pictures and Village Roadshow Television.<\/p>\n In May 2023, Cutting Edge stepped into the world of pop music, striking a deal<\/a>\u00a0with prominent songwriter and producer Jamie Hartman, who\u2019s written or co-written numerous hits for artists such as Lewis Capaldi, Celeste, Calvin Harris, Rag\u2019n\u2019Bone Man and the Backstreet Boys, among many others.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/files\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-01-at-10.59.56-80x80.jpg\")
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