Ithaca Holdings LLC., a media holding company led by SB Projects founder Scooter Braun, has fully acquired Big Machine Label Group.<\/p>\n
The deal price was not disclosed, but a nine-figure acquisition sum was being rumored in recent months. (UPDATE: sources close to the deal say it was worth circa $300m with all aspects considered.)<\/p>\n
BMLG is an independent record label founded by Scott Borchetta. In a joint announcement, the companies claimed that the buyout\u00a0 “creates one of the most powerful label, management, streaming, publishing and media companies by combining complimentary services, artists, executives and expertise”.<\/p>\n
The deal includes the entirety of Taylor Swift’s master recording rights for records released on BMLG.<\/p>\n
The acquisition encompasses all aspects of BMLG\u2019s business, including its client roster, distribution deals, publishing sides and owned artist masters.<\/p>\n
Borchetta will join the Ithaca board, acquire a minority interest in Ithaca and remain President and CEO of BMLG. BMLG will continue normal operations out of Nashville.<\/p>\n
The Carlyle Group, which initially invested in Ithaca in 2017, is supporting the transaction, alongside Scooter Braun and Ithaca Holdings, through an additional equity investment by way of its Carlyle Partners VI fund.<\/p>\n
Carlyle will remain a minority shareholder in Ithaca and continue to support the combined company\u2019s growth strategy with Jay Sammons, Head of Carlyle\u2019s Global Consumer, Media and Retail team, remaining on Ithaca\u2019s Board.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of Scott and I working together is nothing new, we\u2019ve been talking about it since the beginning of our friendship,\u201d said Scooter Braun (pictured with Borchetta).<\/p>\n
\u201cI reached out to him when I saw an opportunity and, after many conversations, realized our visions were aligned. He\u2019s built a brilliant company full of iconic songs and artists. Who wouldn\u2019t want to be a part of that? By joining together, we will create more opportunities for artists than ever before, by giving them the support and tools to go after whatever dreams they wish to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cScooter and I have been aligned with \u2018big vision brings big results\u2019 from the very first time we met in 2010,\u201d said Borchetta. \u201cSince then I have watched him build an incredible and diverse company that is a perfect complement to the Big Machine Label Group. Our artist-first spirit and combined roster of talent, executives, and assets is now a global force to be reckoned with. This is a very special day and the beginning of what is sure to be a fantastic partnership and historic run.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ithaca\u2019s recent transactions include the launch of Mythos Studios in partnership with Marvel Founding Chairman David Maisel, the acquisition of Atlas Publishing and partnerships with Jason Owen\u2019s Sandbox Entertainment as well as Morris Higham Management.<\/p>\n
Ithaca also has a long-standing investment in and partnership with Aubrey \u201cDrake\u201d Graham and Adel \u201cFuture\u201d Nur. In 2019, Ithaca launched Raised in Space, an investment fund focused on the intersection of music and technology led by former BMG President Zach Katz. In addition, Ithaca houses Braun\u2019s SB Projects, which services some of the biggest pop-culture icons in the world, including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J. Balvin, Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, Zac Brown Band, Dan + Shay and many more.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2005 by President and CEO Scott Borchetta, BMLG is home to Taylor Swift\u2019s music catalog and superstar artists such as Reba Mcentire, Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, and Lady Antebellum.<\/p>\n
The label group encompasses four imprints including Big Machine Records, The Valory Music Co., BMLG Records and Big Machine\/John Varvatos Records. In 2012, BMLG launched publishing company Big Machine Music which today publishes hit songwriters such as Luke Combs, Jonathan Singleton, Brandy Clark and Laura Veltz.<\/p>\n
The label released all six of Taylor Swift\u2019s multi-platinum studio albums including Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ithaca Holdings LLC., a media holding company led by SB Projects founder Scooter Braun, has fully acquired Big Machine Label Group. The deal price was not disclosed, but a nine-figure acquisition sum was being rumored in recent months. (UPDATE: sources close to the deal say it was worth circa $300m with all aspects considered.) BMLG … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":66036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2318],"class_list":["post-66030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-scooter-braun"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}