UMG-Backed Chord Music Partners Scores Searchlight Investment

A live performance from Lorde, one of the many professionals with works in the Chord Music Partners portfolio. Photo Credit: Pridia Brasil

The catalog space isn’t cooling off just yet: Chord Music Partners has scored a “strategic investment” from Searchlight Capital Partners and doubled down on plans to scoop up additional music IP.

The self-described “leading management and acquisition platform for music intellectual property” Chord unveiled the backing in a formal release today. Right off the bat, what jumps out here is that Universal Music Group (UMG) itself published said release; the major took a minority stake in Chord in early 2024.

This same transaction saw KKR (which had established Chord in 2021 alongside Dundee Partners) exit the investment vehicle. Now, with UMG’s catalog-purchase and -buildout expertise factoring prominently into Chord’s strategy, different parties are apparently getting in on the IP action.

Furthermore, they look to be making decidedly large bets on the asset class. UMG, Chord, and New York City-headquartered Searchlight opted against publicly attaching a dollar amount to today’s transaction. But sources told us that the firm’s investment is considerable – to the tune of at least $500 million in the current round alone.

At present, the sum is without official confirmation; Searchlight’s PR contact rather tersely declined to weigh in when we reached out for comment about the half-billion-dollar figure. (Side note: Searchlight partner Darren Glatt has joined Chord’s board.)

In any event, the seemingly sizable investment underscores the continued interest and confidence in music assets – despite the billions upon billions of dollars’ worth of already-wrapped deals. To be sure, it was only in July that Warner Music disclosed a $1.2 billion catalog JV with Bain Capital.

That is, of course, a massive tranche, and the majors are hardly alone in remaining on the hunt for music IP. Naturally, these points and huge catalog price tags are still raising questions about the possibility of a song-rights bubble.

Though time will reveal whether IP purchasers overpaid, rightsholders definitely aren’t content with cashing in on streaming, scoring an occasional sync placement, and hoping for the best.

The likes of Primary Wave (which debuted a Bob Marley immersive experience in July) and Pophouse Entertainment (which is teeing up a Kiss avatar band) have been making non-traditional monetization waves for a while now.

However, others are also working to bolster their monetization capabilities via IRL events and much more. Last month, Reservoir invested in Len Blavatnik-backed “immersive entertainment company” Lightroom. And in June, Universal Music went ahead and emphasized plans to break “into every dimension of entertainment and consumer life” under a diversification-focused JV with Patrick Whitesell.