Litmus Music has been busy.
Since late 2022, the company – backed by Carlyle’s Global Credit Platform – has acquired catalogs from the likes of Benny Blanco, Keith Urban, and Katy Perry.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Litmus had splashed a nine-figure sum to acquire the music asset portfolio of Opus, including rights to music catalogs from Juice WRLD, Ozuna, Maluma and Rauw Alejandro.
Today (October 17), Litmus has announced its latest major deal: acquiring Randy Newman’s share of his recorded music and publishing.
The catalog encompasses both Newman’s soundtrack work for Disney franchises such as Toy Story, Cars, and The Princess & The Frog, plus his studio records from the ’70s and ’80s, including “I Love L.A.,” “Mama Told Me Not To Come,” “Feels Like Home,” “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” “Short People,” “Baltimore,” and “It’s A Jungle Out There”.
(Some important small print: The recorded music masters to Newman’s work for Disney are owned by Disney Music Group; the masters for most of his ’70s and ’80s studio work are owned by Warner Music Group. Newman appears to have sold his royalty stream from these recordings to Litmus. Meanwhile, the long-time manager of Newman’s music publishing rights is Universal Music Publishing Group.)
Litmus Music was founded by music biz veterans Dan McCarroll and Hank Forsyth in summer 2022. At that point, the pair were backed by USD $500 million in funding from Carlyle Global Credit, split between equity and debt.
Earlier this year, Litmus increased the size of its credit facility from Carlyle from $250 million to $400 million, which it used to complete the Opus acquisition.
Financial terms of the Randy Newman acquisition have not been disclosed.
Discussing the Randy Newman deal today, Dan McCarroll, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Litmus Music, said: “Randy Newman is a unique and brilliant songwriter, composer, and performer whose body of work has proven him to be an artist for the ages.
“There is absolutely no one like him, and his influence on the music world cannot be overstated. We couldn’t be more proud and excited to acquire Randy’s catalog of beautiful, witty, and sharply observational songs.”
Hank Forsyth, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Litmus Music, added: “Randy’s music has touched so many generations. His songs continue to transcend time and illuminate films. Dan and I and the entire Litmus team are so grateful Randy has trusted us as his partner to care for these songs and recordings. It is an honor and responsibility we don’t take lightly.
Alex Popov, Head of Private Credit at Carlyle, said: “Randy Newman’s music has been a staple of childhood memories and experiences for decades.
“Litmus Music continues to partner with the world’s leading artists to promote and drive value for iconic catalogs.”
Speaking with Reuters, Popov further commented: “Music is an industry with significant tailwinds. It provides investors with uncorrelated income – investors receive a stream of cash flows that is not correlated with more traditional economic activity – and it is a sizeable market.”
He added: “With Randy Newman’s catalog, there is a significant value that’s being created by its affiliation with Disney and some of the storied movies like ‘Toy Story’.
“This is the type of asset that we gravitate to. In terms of stability of demand, Newman is at the top of the list.”
Newman’s debut and self-titled album Randy Newman was released in 1969.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s he released several acclaimed albums such as: 12 Songs, Sail Away, Good Old Boys, Little Criminals, Born Again, Trouble in Paradise, Land of Dreams, and Bad Love.
Since 2003, he has released three Randy Newman Songbook volumes, plus the Randy Newman: Live in London CD/DVD, Harps and Angels, and Dark Matter.Music Business Worldwide
