UPDATED: Indie publisher Spirit Music Group today announced a recapitalization that sees Jon Singer rising from COO to chairman and the newly formed Lyric Capital Group becoming the company’s sole owner. A rep for the company confirmed that David Renzer, chairman since 2014, will be leaving Spirit.
“Spearheaded by seasoned music executive Jon Singer and Spirit’s Ross Cameron with participation from major institutional investors, the recapitalization is expected to leverage the surging interest in music publishing assets,” the announcement reads, noting that Singer will be managing partner of Lyric while Cameron, most recently the company’s VP of acquisitions and business development, will continue “in an executive role” at Spirit and become a partner at Lyric.
Renzer declined comment when contacted by Variety Friday morning, although a source close to the situation said he “had the opportunity to take his equity in Spirit off the table, and he chose to do so.” During his tenure with the company, Renzer oversaw Spirit’s moves into Nashville (via its acquisition of the Cal IV publishing/management company and inking the Josh Osborne catalog), production music (via the acquisition of Alan Ett Production Music) and its deal to manage the Henry Mancini catalog, among other accomplishments.
Spirit, founded in 1995, owns or manages more than 75,000 songs. Its roster includes James Bay, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Marc Bolan, T Bone Burnett, Henry Mancini, Johnny McDaid, Graham Nash, Rick Nowels, Doc Pomus, Boz Scaggs, Billy Squier and Pete Townshend.
“There is a powerful shift occurring within the music industry and this new dynamism means that Spirit, with our amazing songwriters, dedicated team and 75,000 songs, is especially well-positioned for growth,” Singer said. “We are privileged to have major institutional investors on board, providing us with additional capital to grow. I am very excited to serve the incredible songwriters that make up the Spirit family during this exciting time.”