Becca Nelson
Cutting Edge acquires AMC Studios’ full catalog of TV music rights, including compositions from hit series ‘The Walking Dead’ (Music Business Worldwide)
Cutting Edge Group has been a prominent buyer of film and TV music rights over the past few years.
Today (September 3), the UK-born company has announced its latest transaction: The acquisition of AMC Studios’ “full portfolio of TV music rights,” adding compositions from hit TV series including The Walking Dead franchise and Anne Rice adaptations to its media music portfolio.
Cutting Edge, led by CEO Philip Moross, said it has acquired both the publishing and master rights to AMC Studios’ entire TV music library for an undisclosed amount.
The compositions and recordings from the latest deal join CEG’s total portfolio of over 400,000 owned and/or managed media music rights, which it says is valued at more than USD $1 billion.
Cutting Edge Group completed a USD $500 million debt refinancing in April last year, with a syndicate of four banks led by US-based Fifth Third Bank and Toronto-headquartered private investment firm, Northleaf Capital Partners.
Cutting Edge said at the time that it had already identified a “circa USD $1.5 billion pipeline” of potential investments.
The transaction marks the latest expansion for Cutting Edge following its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery in January to create a joint venture through which it now co-owns and co-manages the studio’s vast catalog of film and TV music, spanning almost a century.
“AMC Studios’ catalogue represents some of the finest storytelling in modern television and we are honoured to become custodians of the remarkable music behind it.”
Tara Finegan, Cutting Edge Group
The company’s latest acquisition covers music from AMC’s original programming over the past decade.
The Walking Dead ran for 11 seasons and 177 episodes. The franchise has expanded into multiple spin-offs including The Walking Dead: Dead City and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Other assets in the deal include Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire, Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, Into the Badlands and Dark Winds.
The deal also sees CEG secure rights to music from future seasons of existing franchises The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, premiering in September, Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat, expected in 2026, Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order, premiering in October, and a new Immortal Universe TV series.
According to Cutting Edge, under the deal, AMC Networks will continue to use the music within AMC Studios’ series “in perpetuity.”
Commenting on the latest deal, Tara Finegan, COO of Cutting Edge Group, said: “AMC Studios’ catalogue represents some of the finest storytelling in modern television and we are honoured to become custodians of the remarkable music behind it.
“Being a record label partner to AMC since 2016 through our soundtrack division, Lakeshore Records, and having released the soundtrack album of Bear McCreary’s iconic The Walking Dead score, we have first-hand experience with how valuable and long lasting this studio’s catalogue is and we look forward to carrying this extraordinary body of work into its next chapter.”
Tim Hegarty, Head of M&A at Cutting Edge Group, said: “This investment reflects our unwavering commitment to securing the very best music rights in the media & entertainment industry.
“Our ability to complete deals of this caliber is testament to the reputation we have established within the Film and TV industry over the past decades.”
“We have a deep conviction in this subsector of the music copyrights market, having completed 25 acquisitions in just four years, and are confident we can grow the audience and revenue potential of the portfolio by utilizing our team’s specialist experience and operating expertise.”
Full article available via Music Business Worldwide here.
Warner Bros strikes $1bn deal for music catalogue including theme from ‘Friends’ (Financial Times)
Warner Bros Discovery has struck a deal worth more than $1bn to create a joint venture that will own and manage almost 100 years of film and television music, including the theme from Friends and the soundtrack to the Harry Potter movies. The sale of the library, one of the most valuable owned by a major Hollywood studio, will raise money for WBD as chief executive David Zaslav seeks to boost the company’s share price and cut its debt. The library includes some of the most recognisable theme songs and scores, such as the original John Williams’ Superman score. The music rights will be sold into a joint venture with UK-based Cutting Edge Group, a music financier and publisher, which will invest money into acquiring part of the portfolio and managing the assets. German asset manager DWS is co-investing in the transaction.
The music rights will be sold into a joint venture with UK-based Cutting Edge Group, a music financier and publisher, which will invest money into acquiring part of the portfolio and managing the assets.
The deal is the latest to demonstrate the growing popularity of music rights as an asset class, attracting investors who want to benefit from revenue generated by streaming and performances. CEG will be tasked with ensuring that royalties are being paid around the world, as well as seeking to drive income from the music through licensing deals. The vast majority of the revenues from the more than 400,000 compositions and song cues will be from the public performance rights, taking a fee every time one of the movies or TV shows is viewed around the world.
The companies said creating the joint venture would be one of the largest music rights transactions by value, spanning almost 100 years of copyrights. WBD will retain creative and operational control of the music. The portfolio also includes music from movies such as the Lord of the Rings franchise, Rebel Without a Cause and Blade Runner, as well as TV shows including Game of Thrones, Succession and The West Wing.
CEG, founded in 2006 by entrepreneur Philip Moross, last year secured $500mn in debt funding to invest in creating and buying music rights for films, TV, theatre productions and computer games. Its portfolio of more than 2,000 titles includes publishing rights to films such as Aquaman. Moross, whose negotiations to conclude the deal with the US media and entertainment company took several years, described WBD’s music as an “iconic assembly of catalogues created over almost a century by one of Hollywood’s original studios”. As an asset class, music rights “continues to be very well-liked”, he added. Paul Broucek, WBD’s president for music, said: “This partnership with CEG is the perfect way to expand access to our unparalleled music library while honouring our long history of strong creative oversight and protecting the integrity of the works and artists.” Tara Finegan, chief operating officer of CEG, said the company was best placed to manage a catalogue that was “one of the best that exists” because it was an investor with a “fundamental understanding of these specialist music rights”.
Full article available via Financial Times here.