Sony strikes almost $4bn deal to buy Blackstone's portfolio of music rights

Sony Music Group is to buy Recognition Music Group from Blackstone in an almost $4bn deal that hands it the rights to more than 45,000 songs, from Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Sony struck the deal through its joint venture with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, the companies announced on Monday. While they declined to comment on the size of the transaction, one person familiar with the situation said it was valued close to $4bn. Recognition was created by Blackstone following its $1.6bn acquisition of UK-listed music investment group Hipgnosis Songs Fund in 2024. Under its founder Merck Mercuriadis, Hipgnosis had brought together a large catalogue of rights to mainly older acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shakira in a multiyear deal spree that inflated values in the market. The music M&A market has been particularly active in recent months, with deals including music rights that offer a financial return for investors based on payments for use on streaming platforms, radio and TV. German music group BMG last month agreed to merge with Nashville-based label Concord to create a $14bn company, with the rights to more than 4mn songs as well as contracts to represent artists including Lily Allen and Kylie Minogue. Sony, which last year bought a smaller portfolio of song rights from Recognition, has been among the most ambitious groups in acquiring music catalogues over the past five years, including the rights to songs by Queen and Pink Floyd. Older music tends to account for a large share of music consumption in mature markets where greater numbers of older consumers are listening to music through streaming platforms. Jon Platt, chair and CEO of Sony Music Publishing, said the deal reflected "our belief in the enduring power of great music". The Sony deal was first reported by Billboard magazine. Qasim Abbas, senior managing director and head of international tactical opportunities at Blackstone, said that the transaction marked "a strong outcome for Blackstone and our investors and represents a further vote of confidence in music rights as an institutionally established asset class". He added that Blackstone would continue to invest in the music sector.