Influence Media Partners has closed a deal worth over $600 million for most of Anthem Entertainment's assets. The music investment firm worked with BlackRock-managed funds and accounts to buy a large set of songs, recordings, and rights tied to film and TV.
The purchase gives Influence stakes in more than 24,000 released tracks and another 60,000 works that have yet to be commercially used. That's a lot of music with room for fresh licensing deals and other uses.
And the hit list is stacked. The Weeknd's Die For You, Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again, Justin Timberlake's SexyBack, and Timbaland's The Way I Are are among the songs in the deal.
Other tracks in the catalog range from Cody Johnson's Til You Can't and Rush's Tom Sawyer to Nelly Furtado's Promiscuous and OneRepublic's Counting Stars. The acquired works also have links to screen hits such as Spider-Man, Breaking Bad, and LEGO Ninjago.
Influence first made its plan to buy the assets public in July, with a goal of closing the deal before the year was out. The sale has since reached that point, adding a large mix of music rights to its holdings.
Founder Lylette Pizarro McLean sees the purchase as a way to help more songs find fresh uses. Her team wants to work with music partners to get the tracks heard by more people while creating new ways for the artists and writers to earn money.
BlackRock also sees value in music that stays popular over time. Paul Braude, who leads its Direct Private Opportunities investment work, views Anthem's catalog as the type of large rights portfolio that can offer long-term returns.
Anthem CEO Jason Klein has spent three years leading the firm. He credits his staff for their work with its songs and says Influence has the tools to help the catalog and its writers reach more people.
The financial side had some big names as well. Truist arranged the debt funding and advised Influence, while Goldman Sachs handled financial advice for Anthem.
Earlier deal reports put Influence's winning bid above $650 million. They also claimed Anthem's rights brought in $45 million to $50 million a year from its net publishing and label shares.
The sale had a long path. Past attempts to find a buyer in 2017 and 2022 went nowhere, according to those reports. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which held control of Anthem, was also expected to leave the business through this deal.
Not all parts of Anthem were part of the reported package. Compact Media, which handles secondary rights for screen content, and the Anthem Entertainment business platform itself were said to be outside the sale.
Anthem has changed quite a bit over the years. It used the ole Media Management name before a 2019 rebrand. The firm also sold more than 650,000 production music tracks to Slipstream in 2024, covering Jingle Punks, 5 Alarm Music, and Cavendish Music.
Influence has been active in music rights for years. It set up a $750 million copyright fund with support from BlackRock Alternative Investors and Warner Music Group, then bought catalogs linked to Future, Enrique Iglesias, and Blake Shelton.
Its other moves include the launch of SLANG, a record label and publisher for new music, and a roughly $360 million debt deal backed by royalties from rights it already held.
DJ Khaled also joined the picture through a catalog purchase and two joint ventures. That gave Influence another major artist relationship alongside its growing set of music assets.
The Anthem purchase adds both famous hits and lesser-used works to Influence's portfolio. Its plan is to help those rights generate value over time, with BlackRock backing the firm's next phase of growth.
The purchase gives Influence stakes in more than 24,000 released tracks and another 60,000 works that have yet to be commercially used. That's a lot of music with room for fresh licensing deals and other uses.
And the hit list is stacked. The Weeknd's Die For You, Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again, Justin Timberlake's SexyBack, and Timbaland's The Way I Are are among the songs in the deal.
Other tracks in the catalog range from Cody Johnson's Til You Can't and Rush's Tom Sawyer to Nelly Furtado's Promiscuous and OneRepublic's Counting Stars. The acquired works also have links to screen hits such as Spider-Man, Breaking Bad, and LEGO Ninjago.
Influence first made its plan to buy the assets public in July, with a goal of closing the deal before the year was out. The sale has since reached that point, adding a large mix of music rights to its holdings.
Founder Lylette Pizarro McLean sees the purchase as a way to help more songs find fresh uses. Her team wants to work with music partners to get the tracks heard by more people while creating new ways for the artists and writers to earn money.
BlackRock also sees value in music that stays popular over time. Paul Braude, who leads its Direct Private Opportunities investment work, views Anthem's catalog as the type of large rights portfolio that can offer long-term returns.
Anthem CEO Jason Klein has spent three years leading the firm. He credits his staff for their work with its songs and says Influence has the tools to help the catalog and its writers reach more people.
The financial side had some big names as well. Truist arranged the debt funding and advised Influence, while Goldman Sachs handled financial advice for Anthem.
Earlier deal reports put Influence's winning bid above $650 million. They also claimed Anthem's rights brought in $45 million to $50 million a year from its net publishing and label shares.
The sale had a long path. Past attempts to find a buyer in 2017 and 2022 went nowhere, according to those reports. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which held control of Anthem, was also expected to leave the business through this deal.
Not all parts of Anthem were part of the reported package. Compact Media, which handles secondary rights for screen content, and the Anthem Entertainment business platform itself were said to be outside the sale.
Anthem has changed quite a bit over the years. It used the ole Media Management name before a 2019 rebrand. The firm also sold more than 650,000 production music tracks to Slipstream in 2024, covering Jingle Punks, 5 Alarm Music, and Cavendish Music.
Influence has been active in music rights for years. It set up a $750 million copyright fund with support from BlackRock Alternative Investors and Warner Music Group, then bought catalogs linked to Future, Enrique Iglesias, and Blake Shelton.
Its other moves include the launch of SLANG, a record label and publisher for new music, and a roughly $360 million debt deal backed by royalties from rights it already held.
DJ Khaled also joined the picture through a catalog purchase and two joint ventures. That gave Influence another major artist relationship alongside its growing set of music assets.
The Anthem purchase adds both famous hits and lesser-used works to Influence's portfolio. Its plan is to help those rights generate value over time, with BlackRock backing the firm's next phase of growth.
