Concord has acquired Broadway Licensing Global (BLG), a theatrical licensing agency and publisher, expanding the company’s presence in theatrical IP management.
The deal folds BLG’s imprints — Broadway Licensing, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, and Stage Rights — into Concord Theatricals. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
While the purchase excludes Stageworks and the Broadway On Demand streaming platform, the deal gives Concord access to BLG’s family of imprints that represent authors and rightsholders including David Auburn, Jocelyn Bioh, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Richard Greenberg, Lauren Gunderson, Katori Hall, David Henry Hwang, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Michael Korie, John Leguizamo, Matthew López, Martyna Majok, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson, Alan Menken, Arthur Miller, Lynn Nottage, John Patrick Shanley, Sam Shepard, Tom Stoppard, Paula Vogel, Tennessee Williams, Doug Wright, Harry Potter Theatrical Productions, Hasbro, and Mischief Worldwide.
For Concord, the move marks another expansion after launching its theatrical division in 2018 with Concord Theatricals. The unit already houses the catalogs of Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatricals, Tams-Witmark, Samuel French, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, and “dozens” of new signings each year.
Concord says that Concord Theatricals “is the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording, and first-class producing.”
Concord Theatricals, a Broadway producer and record label, has won three Tony Awards and two GRAMMY Awards over the past six years.
“Bringing together these catalogs combines 150 titles and 400 authors that are already shared between the companies, as well as creating new relationships.”
Sean Patrick Flahaven, Concord
Sean Patrick Flahaven, Chief Theatricals Executive of Concord, said: “Concord’s mission is to champion authors by promoting and protecting their work and empowering theatre makers to help their shows reach audiences worldwide.
“Bringing together these catalogs combines 150 titles and 400 authors that are already shared between the companies, as well as creating new relationships. I’m thrilled to put our people and resources at their service. As with our team of 90+ theatrical experts at Concord, my career has been spent in support of authors and producers. We’re grateful to the BLG team for all the work they’ve done building their catalog and for trusting us with it.”
Bob Valentine, CEO of Concord, added: “We have built Concord Theatricals into one of the world’s most significant theatre licensors, producers, and record labels in an effort to further our mission of elevating voices and impacting culture.
“We look forward to dedicating our best-in-class infrastructure and knowledgeable staff to championing the prestigious works in BLG’s catalog.”
“We look forward to dedicating our best-in-class infrastructure and knowledgeable staff to championing the prestigious works in BLG’s catalog.”
Bob Valentine, Concord
Dan Markley, Chief Operating Officer of Broadway Licensing Global, said: “We are theatre professionals who love what we do. BLG was founded in 2017 before the COVID pandemic and expanded over the next few years, acquiring Dramatists Play Service along with other licensing companies while funding and stabilizing the company during the most challenging time in the history of the American theatre.
“Now, Ted Chapin and I are very pleased to have found the right partner to continue to protect our primary stakeholders, the authors and playwrights who create the wonderful works we help make available to performers and producers. By combining forces with Concord, we can now assure best-in-class practices for decades to come for all our stakeholders regardless of market conditions our industry may have to confront.”
Concord’s acquisition strategy extends beyond theater. The Los Angeles-based music rights company fully acquired Los Angeles-based music distribution platform Stem in March. Sources told MBW earlier that the deal is worth somewhere above $50 million.
In January, Concord acquired a portion of songwriter, musician, and producer Johnny McDaid’s song catalog. McDaid is a key collaborator of Ed Sheeran’s – co-writing many of the British artist’s biggest hits – and is also a member of the band Snow Patrol.
“By combining forces with Concord, we can now assure best-in-class practices for decades to come for all our stakeholders regardless of market conditions our industry may have to confront.”
Dan Markley, Broadway Licensing Global
In October, Concord reportedly acquired “a highly successful Latin Music artist and songwriter” catalog in a deal valued at $217.3 million. That same month, Concord closed an asset-backed securities (ABS) transaction, which saw the acquisitive company raise $850 million in debt financing through a private securitization backed by its catalog of music rights.
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