Multimedia Music has secured what it says is a $100 million investment “uplift” from its group of investors and lenders (Metropolitan Partners Group, Bardin Hill, Pinnacle Bank and Regions Bank).
The new investment means that the company’s total funds raised to date grows from $100 million to $200 million.
Led by industry veterans Phil Hope and James Gibb, Multimedia Music launched in early 2022 with an initial $100 million in funding from Metropolitan Partners Group, Pinnacle Bank and Regions Bank to acquire catalogs of film and TV music rights from production companies, composers and other rights holders.
Since launching just 15 months ago, Multimedia Music says it has deployed over $120 million on acquisitions.
Multimedia Music has also closed a deal to acquire the catalog and income streams of multiple Emmy-winning composer Sean Callery.
One of the most nominated composers of all time, Sean Callery’s vast body of work included the TV series Homeland, 24, Bull, Bones, Halo, Accused, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Elementary and Designated Survivor among many others.
“Sean has worked on many of the most successful shows of recent years and we are proud that he chose to work with MMM.”
Phil Hope
Multimedia Partner Phil Hope, who leads the company with James Gibb, said: “We are very excited to be stepping into the world of top class series TV music with one of the very best composers in the field.
“Sean has worked on many of the most successful shows of recent years and we are proud that he chose to work with MMM.
“We are also thrilled that our investors have stepped in to further support the company’s rapid growth and share our vision for the potential that this business has to grow.”
The Callery catalog deal follows a recent spending spree by MMM which included the acquisition of STX Entertainment’s music library in an eight-figure deal.
Some of the company’s other acquisitions have included:
- The catalog of film composer James Newton Howard (including the film and TV music scores for the Hunger Games trilogy, The Dark Knight, Maleficent, Snow White and the Huntsman, King Kong, I Am Legend, Runaway Bride, Emily in Paris, Pretty Woman, etc.)
- The master and publishing rights to a 48 title film score catalog from Atlantic Screen Music in a “mid-seven figure” transaction that included rights to the scores from films such as 2 Guns, Lone Survivor, The Host, Dredd, Escape Plan, and Broken City, which have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars at the global box office.
Multimedia Music has also acquired music rights and income streams from some of the composers Tyler Bates, David Buckley and Michael Corcoran.
Included in those works from Tyler Bates are the Guardians of the Galaxy and John Wick franchises, Deadpool 2, The Spy Who Dumped Me,, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and TV shows including Californication and The Punisher.
The David Buckley catalog purchase covers all his past works including Nobody, Greenland, Papillon, Jason Bourne, The Nice Guys, The Town, Parker, The Forbidden Kingdom and TV hits The Good Wife and The Lincoln Lawyer, amongst many other titles.
Michael Corcoran is a prominent composer of music for teen and children’s programming and the deal with MMM covers productions featuring his music including iCarly, Victorious, Henry Danger and Liv and Maddie, which MultiMedia Music says are “all shows that play consistently around the world”.
Copyrights belonging to composers for film and TV are becoming big business.
Elsewhere in the space, last month, UK-born Cutting Edge Media Music (CEMM) secured $100 million in financing from a group of banks led by Pinnacle Financial Partners to boost its cash reserves to invest in music for film, television, video games and more.
That new $100 million raise came after a year during which the company invested $125 million, raised in an initial round, to acquire film and TV music rights.Music Business Worldwide