The Weeknd has closed a deal with Lyric Capital Group that brings outside investment into his music catalog while keeping the artist and his team as shareholders with “creative control” over his catalog.
That’s according to a report from Variety over the weekend, which cited confirmation from representatives for the artist.
The reported confirmation arrives less than four months after Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Canadian singer is looking to raise roughly USD $1 billion in financing backed by his stake in publishing rights and master recordings.
The news outlet reported at the time that New York-based Lyric Capital was leading the talks and that the artist already reached out to other investors to assemble the financing package of up to $1 billion.
Bloomberg reported in August that the proposed deal structure with Lyric reportedly includes $500 million in senior debt, $250 million in junior debt, and $250 million in equity.
“From the beginning of the meeting, it was clear to all at Lyric that Abel would not sell his catalog. He wanted to be more innovative and creative in the way we established a partnership.”
Representative for the weeknd (via variety)
Most recently, Variety reported that the arrangement with Lyric covers The Weeknd’s work from the start of his career through 2025, including both publishing rights and master recordings. Future releases are excluded from the deal, potentially giving the artist the option to negotiate separate agreements for future work.
Variety noted that the artist will continue his partnership with XO/Republic/Universal Music Group. Universal Music Publishing Group continues administer The Weekdn’s publishing catalog.
As Bloomberg previously reported, Chord Music Partners currently owns a 50% stake in The Weeknd‘s music publishing rights. Chord operates under a consortium that includes Universal Music Group and Dundee Partners, the investment vehicle of the Hendel family.
A rep for The Weeknd reportedly told Variety that unlike traditional catalog sales that transfer ownership to investors, the agreement structures Lyric’s investment as a joint venture.
“through this venture, we constructed and launched a new business model with Abel and his iconic catalog whereby Abel and his team have the freedom to execute their creative vision with the entirety of his rights, both publishing and masters.”
Representative for the weeknd (via variety)
The rep was quoted by Variety as saying: “From the beginning of the meeting, it was clear to all at Lyric that Abel would not sell his catalog. He wanted to be more innovative and creative in the way we established a partnership.”
“To that end, through this venture, we constructed and launched a new business model with Abel and his iconic catalog whereby Abel and his team have the freedom to execute their creative vision with the entirety of his rights, both publishing and masters. This unique catalog deal sets a new standard for artist equity and control.”
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, has attracted over 120 million monthly listeners on Spotify. In 2023, his track, Blinding Lights, surpassed Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You to become Spotify’s most-streamed track of all time. This year, The Weeknd placed third in Spotify’s ranking of most-streamed artists globally.
Lyric Capital owns Spirit Music Group, which controls publishing catalogs from artists including Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, and Ingrid Michaelson. Lyric completed fundraising for its second music royalty fund with approximately $800 million in commitments in 2023.
Variety noted that neither representatives for the Weeknd nor Lyric would confirm the value of the deal, but if the $1 billion tag is accurate, it would be one of the biggest individual artist catalog transactions ever.
(Last year, Sony Music Entertainment acquired the rights – both recorded and publishing – to the music of legendary rock band Queen, for a reported USD $1.27 billion).
Ross Cameron, founding / co-managing partner of Lyric Capital, is quoted by Variety as saying: “I couldn’t be more excited about what Lyric, Abel and team have created together.
He added: “From our first meeting, it was clear to me that we were sitting around the table with individuals that were going to change the way an artist thinks about his assets, music and legacy. The collaboration resulted in a first-of-its-kind partnership between an artist and Lyric, and we are beyond thrilled about this new venture.”
Earlier this year, Chord Music Partners raised about $2 billion as of August for music rights investments, as per an exclusive MBW report. That figure is expected to grow to up to $3 billion or even $4 billion by the time funding round closed in October.
In July, Concord successfully closed its asset-backed securities transaction, raising $1.76 billion, to “fuel continued growth” at the independent music company.
That same month, Warner Music Group and private investment giant Bain Capital unveiled plans for a $1.2 billion music rights-buying joint venture. As MBW pointed out, Bain and WMG are understood to be mulling the acquisition of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ recorded music catalog for around $350 million.
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