Rage Against The Machine
(Picture: Getty Images)Rights for the 1992 rock song Killing In The Name Of have been sold to the fund Round Hill Music as investors continue to spend big sums buying up back catalogues.
Round Hill Music, one of two London-listed music rights funds, on Friday announced two package deals: an acquisition of a catalogue from producers Jack and Garth Richardson; and a deal to buy the back catalogue of reggae band Rebelution.
The Richardson catalogue deal includes production income rights for songs from top rock artists such as Alice Cooper, Nickelback and Rage Against The Machine, including the band’s hit Killing In The Name Of. The catalogue includes 308 recordings in total.
Exact financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed, with Round Hill citing “commercial sensitivities”.
Trevor Bowen, chair of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, said the deal was “another landmark acquisition that provides the Company with exposure to a range of timeless classic tracks.”
He said: “Jack and Garth Richardson are exceptionally well-regarded producers and their impressive catalogue further diversifies RHM’s portfolio in terms of genre and royalty type with the addition of key tracks from some of alternative metal’s best-known bands.”
In a separate statement, Round Hill announced a deal to buy the master and publishing rights on the back catalogue of Rebelution, an American reggae group formed in the early 2000s. Six of the seven albums included in the deal went to number one in the US reggae charts and the band has been nominated for a Grammy.
Bowen said: “This investment marks a major milestone for the Company with the acquisition of our first dedicated reggae catalogue and we are very pleased to further diversify the Company’s portfolio into this important genre.”
As with the Richardson deal, exact financials weren’t disclosed.
The transactions are part of a deal spree in the music rights sector as investors look to capitalise on the growth of streaming and hunt returns in a low interest rate environment.
Round Hill and rival Hipgnosis have spent millions buying up back catalogues from artists as diverse as Avicii, Supertramp, the O’Jays, Whitney Huston and Motley Crew. The funds earn money when songs are streamed, sold or used in advertising.
