Ten time Grammy nominated rapper Wiz Khalifah has sold his back catalog to Global private investment firm HarbourView Equity Partners (HarbourView).
The company has agreed to purchase select music and publishing assets of multi-platinum selling artist.
The acquired music assets in the deal include “See You Again,” “Black & Yellow, along with albums, mixtapes, and collaborations with some of the biggest names in entertainment.
In a press release Wiz said : Sherrese (Clarke Soares) and HarbourView truly understand the value of music and artistry. We are excited to partner with them as they continue to build a dynamic media company that is in line with the values and goals we all have here at Taylor Gang.”
Earlier this week it was announced that Nelly sold half of his catalog for 50 million dollars to HarbourView.
HarbourView’s founder Sherrese Clarke Soares, is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and she got $1bn from Apollo Global Management to invest in music acquisitions.
Soares, who grew bop in Queens, New York expressed her excitement about the acquiring Nelly’s song book, stating, “This catalog has made an incredible impact on generations of fans. Works such as ‘Hot in Herre’ and ‘Shake Ya Tailfeather’ defined an era of music with a unique blend of hip-hop, R&B, and country music that is undeniable. We are thrilled to add these influential pieces to our repertoire and work with the team to continue supporting the artistry within our ecosystem.”
HarbourView, which has been operational for two years, has been actively expanding its portfolio. Currently, it boasts a diverse catalog of approximately 20,000 songs, encompassing both master recordings and publishing income streams. The investment firm is also part of a consortium vying for a majority stake in BET Media Group from Paramount Global.
The career financier who worked at Morgan Stanley for more than ten years is backed by Apollo Global Management along with other investors looking to reap long term benefits as music becomes a viable asset class.
“The goal for HarbourView is to be a Private Equity enhancement management firm, focus on the things I know well, which is finance and culture,” Sherrese told World Music Views in an exclusive interview.
For the last three years music catalogues, publishing, image and likeness acquisitions have taken up the pages of every financial media publication, as the commercial value of intellectual property becomes a hot commodity on Wall Street due to lowered interest rates.
Big acquisitive players include the major labels, Blackstone, KKR and Hipgnosis in the U.K raised more than £1bn to buy up catalogues from artists including Neil Young.
Even the Church Of England CCLA has become an investor in the catalogues of artists all over Europe and America.
Other artists like Iggy Azalea, Justin Bieber, John Legend, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, Justin Timberlake and more have sold their life’s work for eye-popping sums of money: The James Brown Estate reportedly walked away with $90 million from Primary Wave after a fifteen year contentious internal battle.
HarbourView’s slogan is “Content Is Queen” and their current portfolio includes Despacito, YouTube’s most viewed song which is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Central District Court by 80s dancehall pioneer producers Steely & Clevie. The company acquired the rights for the song after buying singer/songwriter Luis Fonsi’s catalogue for a reported $100 million, a figure she told WMV that was neither confirmed or denied.
