As rights-backed securitization deals grow more prevalent in the music industry, Influence Media Partners has obtained $360 million in debt financing through private securitization, collateralized by music royalties from a portion of its portfolio of catalogs.
This latest round of investors includes Nuveen, PPM America, Aflac, Pacific Life, and accounts managed by HPS Investment Partners. In early 2022, Influence announced a $750 million fund to invest newer, active catalogs, with backing from BlackRock Alternative Investors and Warner Music Group. Their roster currently includes such artists as Future, Enrique Iglesias and Blake Shelton, among others.
“Securing this funding is a testament to Influence’s thoughtful, disciplined and highly strategic vision that prioritizes artist partnership and strong collaboration,” said Lynn Hazan, co-managing partner Influence Media. “Our strategy has allowed us to amass an exceptional roster of catalogs and artist partners who are the heartbeat of Influence Media. This new round of financing will enable us to continue expanding our portfolio, unlock new opportunities, and join forces with even more incredible talent. We are grateful to our partners at Goldman, Truist and BlackRock for their relentless commitment to this accomplishment.”
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Founded in 2019, Influence Media’s investment strategy is built on “modern evergreens,” songs, and diverse artists with a strong potential for long-term impact on pop culture. The latest round of capital also follows the launch of Influence’s independent record label, music publishing and distribution company, Slang (led by the company’s partner and founding advisor, Rene McLean).
The $360 million transaction was led by Goldman Sachs and Truist Securities, acting as co-structuring and joint placement agents, as well as BlackRock as a joint placement agent.
Pictured above (L-R):Lynn Hazan, Rene McLean and Lylette Pizarro.