Chord Music Partners Raises Over $2 Billion for Catalog Investments

Chord Music Partners (CMP), a major independent portfolio of music rights, recently secured a round of investments valued at over $2 billion. Music Business Worldwide reports that the company will secure an additional $1-2 billion before October.

The investments:

• The current round spans from when CMP announced its partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) in February 2024.

• One of the main investors in this current round is the global investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners, which contributed $400 million.

CMP backers:

• UMG owns approximately 26% of CMP.

• The fund was originally founded by two private equity firms.

• One is Dundee Partners, the investment company that owns music-forwarded businesses such as Knitting Factory Entertainment and Partisan Records.

• The other is KKR, a private equity firm that has recently invested in music companies like Superstruct Entertainment, which oversees prominent brands like DGTL, Brunch Electronik, and Awakenings.

What they said:

• Darren Glatt, Partner at Searchlight: “The Chord team has built an incredibly strong and diversified platform at the forefront of music investment and evolved Chord into the desired home for the works and legacies of the world’s premier artists. Searchlight looks forward to contributing to Chord’s next chapter of growth and value creation for both its artists and existing investors.”

• Sam Hendel, Dundee Partners’ Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Chord: “Searchlight’s expertise, network, and ability to meaningfully contribute toward expanding Chord’s premier IP portfolio make Searchlight an ideal strategic partner for our Company’s next chapter.”