Spirit Music Group acquires master recordings of Tim McGraw originally released by Big Machine

Photo credit: David Needleman

Music Publisher Spirit Music Group has acquired a number of Tim McGraw’s master recordings for an undisclosed sum.

The deal includes masters for three of McGraw’s albums: Two Lanes of Freedom (2013), Sundown Heaven Town (2014) and Damn Country Music (2015).

The deal with Spirit also includes hits Shotgun Rider (No.1 Country Airplay, No.1 Hot Country Songs and Platinum certified) and Truck Yeah (Platinum certified).

The catalog of recordings were originally released on Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine, which was sold to Scooter Braun (by way of Carlyle Group-backed Ithaca Holdings) for $330m last year.

This is not the first time the music publisher has struck a deal encompassing master recordings.

The company also represents both the master and publishing for a portion of the catalog for T.Rex via Marc Bolan and recently acquired the masters and publishing for the majority of the catalog of Ingrid Michaelson.

The acquired Tim McGraw records feature some of the artists top hits, including his No.1, Grammy-winning hit Highway Don’t Care and his No.1 single Humble & Kind.

McGraw’s career RIAA certificated-sales in the US recently moved above to 75 million.

Highway Don’t Care hit No.1 Country Airplay, CMA and ACM “Video of the Year” and American Country Awards Song of the Year and Collaborative Single of the Year while Humble & Kind garnered him a “Best Country Song” GRAMMY, CMT Video of the Year, CMA Song of the Year, and AMA Favorite Country Song.

“The entire Spirit team is honored to become an active partner in developing and protecting Tim’s incredible legacy of music.”

Jon Singer, Spirit Music Group

In 2019, Spirit Music Group executives Jon Singer and Ross Cameron formed Lyric Capital Group to take ownership of Spirit Music Group and secure a recapitalization of over $350 million.

Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group said: “There are few artists in any genre of music who have had the level of success and impact that Tim McGraw has – we’re delighted to welcome Tim McGraw to the Spirit family and to represent his recording interests in some of country music’s most beloved songs.

“The entire Spirit team is honored to become an active partner in developing and protecting Tim’s incredible legacy of music.”

“Tim is one of the most prolific artists in country music and it is a unique opportunity to be able to acquire such a remarkable body of work in a competitive music rights market.”

Ross Cameron, Lyric Capital Group

Ross Cameron, Partner, Lyric Capital Group, added: “Tim is one of the most prolific artists in country music and it is a unique opportunity to be able to acquire such a remarkable body of work in a competitive music rights market.

“We thank Tim for entrusting Lyric Capital Group and Spirit Music Group with his songs and are committed to doing our part to further build on the success of these master recordings.”

Frank Rogers, CEO, Spirit Music Nashville, said: “Tim McGraw is a timeless artist who makes timeless music. His recordings have helped shape the sound of country music.

“Spirit Music Group could not be more excited to partner with Tim to represent these amazing records that have become important threads in the fabric of country music history.”

“Tim and I are looking forward to working with them to find ways to continue to share the music with the fans.”

Scott Siman, EM.Co Entertainment Management Company

Scott Siman, management, EM.Co Entertainment Management Company, added: “Jon, Ross, Frank and Spirit’s team have shown great dedication to protecting Tim’s body of work, and that laid the foundation for this deal.

“They understand the special place that Tim has in music and it’s great to be in business with them.

“Tim and I are looking forward to working with them to find ways to continue to share the music with the fans.”

 Music Business Worldwide