Music Catalog Market Shaking Off Shaky 2024 With Revitalized 2025. Here’s Why

During the early months of 2024, the music world watched as publisher and self-styled industry disruptor Hipgnosis Songs Fund endured a swift and public flame-out. The company had made such an impact on the music publishing business in its six years on the scene that some feared its implosion would take the song acquisition market down with it.

Quite the contrary.

Almost a year since Shot Tower Capital’s scathing review and devaluation, HSF is now a private entity fully owned by Blackstone and has stayed out of the headlines, a notable change for the company once known for cutting eight- and nine-figure checks for song catalogs.

The music acquisition market, meanwhile, is going strong and shows little sign of slowing, with several major deals already struck in just the past few weeks.

Any fears of the acquisition bubble bursting were likely quelled thanks to the many major signings throughout 2024. Chief among them was the members of Queen selling their publishing and master recording rights to Sony Music Publishing for $1.27 billion last June, which now holds the record for the most money spent on a single artist’s catalog.

Sony was on an exceptional buying spree in 2024, as it also closed deals with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala and Pink Floyd. And separate from its publishing branch, Sony Music Group started off the year by buying half of Michael Jackson’s catalog for $600 million in February 2024.

Major moves and deals in the industry are already happening just a few months into 2025. March alone has already seen DeadMau5 sell his catalog to Create Music Group for $55 million and Primary Wave reportedly circling a deal with the Notorious B.I.G.’s estate for $100 million.

Not only are existing players like Concord and Duetti going into the year with millions of dollars in new funding, but new entities with deep pockets, namely the Aquarian Holdings-backed Raven Music Partners, have also joined the fray.

The music licensing business is thriving — and evolving. Evergreen catalogs by proven hitmakers are still the backbone for music publishers, but we’ve also seen increased investment in both indie catalogs (Duetti’s M.O. is investing in smaller artists, for example) and international music rights.

In fact, Universal Music Group, despite pumping the breaks in catalog buys in recent years, made gains on both fronts in the latter half of 2024, most notably the acquisitions of RS Group, owner of Thailand’s second-largest music catalog, for $70 million and indie music publisher Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million.

These deals were in addition to UMG gaining a minority stake in Music Chord Partners, whose vast catalog includes songs by Fleetwood Mac and Beyoncé, among others, for $240 million.

Still, weighty Queen and Michael Jackson deals aside, it seems like the number of headline-grabbing sums has reduced compared with the gold rush of a few years ago. Pink Floyd, for instance, had shopped around its catalog for years at the asking price of $500 million before settling for $100 million less with Sony (although controversy and band infighting also dragged out the sale).

Regardless, the good times seem to be rolling on for the music publishing industry, as companies continue to bank on smaller artists and emerging global markets. And despite all odds, we likely haven’t seen the last of Hipgnosis, whose assets apparently regained some value post-Blackstone acquisition — though the elephant isn’t coming back.