Concord has acquired the music publishing catalog of New York, Nashville, and London-based music publisher, Mojo Music & Media.
The catalog includes works of the bands REO Speedwagon, KISS, and Cheap Trick.
The Mojo catalog spans nine decades and comprises more than 30,000 songs including 89 Billboard No.1 hits, adding what Concord says is “a remarkable selection of music” to its publishing portfolio of 800,000 songs.
The company says that the deal “further highlights Concord’s continued strategic growth”.
Today’s news arrives a week-and-a-half after we reported that Alchemy Copyrights, LLC, trading as Concord, has agreed terms on a deal whereby it will acquire the entirety of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund (RHM) – the UK-listed fund operated by Round Hill Music.
The deal values the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of RHM – which currently trades on the London Stock Exchange – at approximately USD $468.8 million, the two companies said in an announcement on September 8.
Mojo was founded in 2018 by industry veterans Mark Fried, Peter Shane, and Alan Wallis and supported since 2019 by funds managed by Crestline Investors Inc.
With a focus on strategic acquisitions of what it says are “culturally relevant songs”, Mojo acquired more than 40 catalogs including those of 30-year Nashville independent HoriPro Entertainment (REO Speedwagon, KISS, Jerry Reed) and LA-based Emerald Forest (Sophie B. Hawkins, Brownstone, Lita Ford).
Mojo’s roster includes Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) and Warren Cuccurullo (Missing Persons, Duran Duran), Country Music Hall of Fame members Bob Morrison (Lookin’ For Love), Sharon Vaughn (My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys) and Larry Gatlin (All The Gold In California) as well as D.L. Byron (Shadows Of The Night), Jeffrey Cohen (Freeway Of Love).
It also includes Earth Wind & Fire’s Al McKay (September, Best Of My Love), English Beat and General Public’s Dave Wakeling (Save It For Later, Tenderness), Grammy award-winning songwriter Jordan Reynolds (writer of Dan + Shay hits Tequila, Speechless, and 10,000 Hours), producer Jacknife Lee (Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, and Kodaline) and the estates of Johnny Burke (Misty), Bernie Wayne (Blue Velvet) and Johnny Russell (Act Naturally)
“My nearly 30-year adventure in music publishing has always been about surrounding myself with the greatest songwriters, getting them paid, keeping them inspired, and elevating the power of their songs in pop culture so they vibrate forever.”
Mark Fried, Mojo
“My nearly 30-year adventure in music publishing has always been about surrounding myself with the greatest songwriters, getting them paid, keeping them inspired, and elevating the power of their songs in pop culture so they vibrate forever,” said Mark Fried, Mojo’s Co-Founder and CEO.
Fried added: “Concord has been on the same mission since its founding, and my partners and I feel like we’ve come full circle working with [Concord’s Chief Business Development Officer] Steve Salm, whom I’ve known and respected since his first days in the business, and other old friends at Concord to bring our catalogs together.
“I feel a deep responsibility to the artists, songs, and legacies we represent and I’m excited to see them continue to prosper in the hands of such capable and passionate caretakers.”
“We are delighted to have supported Mojo through their successful ramp up and aggregation of their catalog.”
Michael Guy, Crestline Europe
Michael Guy, Chief Investment Officer of Crestline Europe, said: “We are delighted to have supported Mojo through their successful ramp up and aggregation of their catalog.
All aspects of our involvement with Mark and team have been outstanding. It is a great example of our desire to use our capital to build valuable asset platforms.”
“Mark Fried is a true original who’s repeatedly seen the value in songs and catalogs well before market trends, always putting songwriters first.”
Steve Salm, Concord
Steve Salm, Concord’s Chief Business Development Officer, added: “Mark Fried is a true original who’s repeatedly seen the value in songs and catalogs well before market trends, always putting songwriters first.
“Over the last several decades, he’s built two premier independent catalogs with Mojo here and Spirit Music prior, winning the trust of some of the most legendary songwriters and artists.
“With Mojo, Mark, Pete, and Alan have assembled a stellar collection of incredible hits spanning genres, eras, and territories. The Mojo catalog is a perfect fit with Concord’s catalogs, and we’re honored by the trust they’ve now put in us.”
Concord was represented by Ritholz Levy Fields LLP, Adam Ritholz, Cody Brown, John Brill, Gillian Sloane, Amanda Inglesh, and Jason Barth, and by DLA Piper, Rob Sherman. Shot Tower Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to Mojo. Mojo was represented by Reed Smith LLP as legal counsel.
Since 2015, Concord has deployed more than USD $2.0 billion of capital and completed more than 100 transactions across recorded music, music publishing and theatricals.
Its biggest acquisitions to date include its $550 million-plus acquisition of Imagem in 2017, and last year’s acquisition ~$300m acquisition of music rights from Phil Collins and members of Genesis.Music Business Worldwide
