Acquisition #6: International Pop Catalog
Description
This pop catalog features songs from international pop stars including Grammy-winning, Puerto Rican duo Wisin & Yandel (featuring Jennifer Lopez), as well as a No. 1 hit from Australian songstress Havana Brown, and more. Earnings for this asset are generated from both songwriter and publishing royalty streams, which include public performance, mechanical, and synchronization.
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The highlight of the catalog is the title “Follow The Leader” performed Wisin & Yandel featuring Jennifer Lopez. The Gold-certified track brings in 63% of both publishing and songwriter earnings to date. Released in 2012, “Follow The Leader” hit No. 1 Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs and charted in eight other countries. To date, the song’s video has over 513 million views on YouTube.
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Also included in this collection is “Warrior” from Australian vocalist Havana Brown. The track peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs, No. 11 on ARIA Singles Chart, and went double Platinum in Australia. “Warrior” accounts for 20% of this asset’s historic earnings.
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Other included titles with international appeal are
Italian Alessandra Amoroso’s “Da Casa Mia,” “Feel The Love” from Australian DJ Tigerlily, and a track from Korean girl-group Page Two.
Key Drivers
Income Mix. This auction is for three different royalty streams. This means the winner of this auction can receive income in multiple ways:
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Mechanical: Royalties paid to songwriters and artists when music is sold (think CD or vinyl) but also when music is streamed (streaming mechanicals) “on-demand” (like Spotify).
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Performance: Royalties when music is performed publicly. Music played over the radio, in a restaurant or bar, or over a service like Spotify or Pandora is considered a public performance.
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Synchronization: Royalties paid to songwriters and publishers for the licensing of a song in background music for a movie, TV show, or commercial.
This diverse income mix is important in today's world of streaming music consumption. When a song is streamed on-demand (on Spotify), it counts as both a public performance and a “mini-purchase.”
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Take for example Wisin & Yandel’s “Follow The Leader.” The song earns a public performance royalty (paid by BMI) from whenever the song is streamed on Spotify, but it also earns a streaming mechanical royalty (a “mini-purchase”) at the same time. This means the winner of this auction will collect two payments for one use of the song. You’ll also collect any upfront sync fees for any of the Sony/ATV catalog songs used in TV/Film or commercials.
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Mechanical Rates. The U.S. Copyright Royalty
Board recently raised the rates digital music services must pay for mechanical royalties... by nearly 44% over the next five years. Historically, this catalog has earned the majority of its royalties from mechanical royalties. As the winner of this auction, you will benefit from the mechanical rate increase as you collect mechanical royalties from the publishing side.