Warner Music, BlackRock Inc, and Influence Media invest in female and diverse artists

The Future.Warner Music, BlackRock Inc, and Influence Media are partnering to invest $750 million into up-and-coming female and diverse songwriters and producers by buying a percentage of their song catalogs. Think of it as a stock market for artists. With songwriters retaining some ownership, but also getting a nice windfall, artists could net the riches rarely seen in the streaming age.

Songwriter stake
You don’t have to be at the end of your career to cash in on your success.

• Investment firm BlackRock Inc, major label Warner Music Group, and music management firm Influence Media have set a $750 million fund to invest in music-rights catalogs from female and diverse artists and songwriters.
• Specifically, the fund is focused on modern and evergreen music, which is from “artists that are still writing music and looking to actively work — and maintain a stake in their catalogs alongside their investors.”
• It’s already invested $300 million into 20 catalogs, including songwriters Tainy (songs for Bad Bunny and J Balvin), the Stereotypes (songs for Bruno Mars), and Jessie Reyez (songs for Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris).

Influence Media founder and co-managing partner Lylette Pizarro said that some newer artists — especially those working in Latin and hip-hop — are showing a lack of “decay” in listenership than is typically found in music “less than 10 years old.” Translation: this is probably a good investment in the long run.

Music as an asset
Over the past year or so, investment in music catalogs has skyrocketed, especially for those from legendary acts that have shown a tried and true popularity on streaming services (and now, video games and fitness apps) and are considered a “recession-proof asset.” Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Nicks have all commanded hundreds of millions of dollars for their catalog rights.

But by investing in younger, still-working artists — a riskier move — investors are banking on the future success of an artist, getting in on an artist at a lower price, rather than waiting a couple of decades to shell out that above-mentioned nine figures.