Canadian music rights management company Kilometre Music Group has acquired the catalog of UK electronic artist, producer, and songwriter William Phillips, pka “Tourist”.
Included in the deal is Sam Smith’s Grammy-winning hit Stay With Me, co-written by Phillips.
Stay With Me earned Phillips a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2015 and remains Smith’s most-streamed song to date with over 1.7 billion streams on Spotify.
The acquisition also includes Tourist’s electronic music releases; Tonight (2013), Patterns (2014), U (2016), Wash (2017) and Everyday (2019).
Additionally, Kilometre has secured a USD $50 million Credit Facility with financial services firm Pinnacle Financial Partners.
As noted by Kilometre, Nashville, Tennessee-based Pinnacle has $45.1 billion in assets as of March 31, 2023, including a $2 billion book of business in the entertainment sector.
We wrote about Pinnacle as recently as last month when we reported that Amsterdam-based Armada Music has launched an investment company called BEAT Music, with plans to spend $100 million on M&A in its first two years. BEAT is backed by Pinnacle.
Kilometre says that this new $50 million facility will provide additional capital for a pipeline of acquisitions by its Barometer Fund.
Kilometre was launched by music biz veterans Michael McCarty, Gavin Brown and Rodney Murphy and is specifically looking to buy music rights created in Canada.
In February 2021, Kilometre partnered with independently-owned, Toronto-based investment firm Barometer Capital Management Inc., which currently manages more than $1.1 billion in assets.
The two companies formed the Barometer Global Music Royalty Fund, a limited partnership with a “targeted size of USD $200 million”.
In January last year, Kilometre acquired two song catalogs, from Murda Beatz and Bryson Tiller.
Those deals included producer/songwriter Murda Beatz’s hits recorded by Drake, Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane and Migos, along with recording artist Bryson Tiller’s complete multi-platinum selling catalog featuring his 2015 debut, Trap Soul.
“Stay With Me is one of the greatest songs written in the last 20 years and it will surely stand the test of time due to its universal themes of vulnerability and heartache.”
Rodney Murphy, Kilometre
Rodney Murphy, Kilometre President of A&R and Acquisitions, said: “Stay With Me is one of the greatest songs written in the last 20 years and it will surely stand the test of time due to its universal themes of vulnerability and heartache.
“This song is a crown jewel of the Kilometre portfolio, and we are very proud that William has trusted such an important piece of his songwriting brilliance with us”.
“I am thrilled to have Kilometre represent this portion of my catalog.”
William Phillips
William Phillips said: “I am thrilled to have Kilometre represent this portion of my catalog.
“I know they will treat my music with the utmost care and am proud to be amongst the other talented songwriters who have partnered with them.”
“Kilometre has been able to amass one of the most impressive collections of music rights in such a relatively short amount of time.”
Brett Ross, Pinnacle
Brett Ross, Pinnacle’s Senior Vice President for music, sports, and entertainment, said: “We’re extremely excited to begin our partnership with Kilometre and the Barometer Fund.
“Kilometre has been able to amass one of the most impressive collections of music rights in such a relatively short amount of time.
“Their ability to forge long-lasting relationships with artists, songwriters and producers aligns greatly with Pinnacle’s goal of supporting the creative community across the globe. We look forward to partnering with Kilometre towards the continued growth of the Barometer Fund.” Music Business Worldwide
