How Asset-Backed Securities Are Changing the Music Catalog Market

This July, roughly six years after the debut of Hipgnosis Songs Fund on the London Stock Exchange, the relatively short-lived experiment of publicly traded catalog funds — also known as investment trusts — will likely end. Global investment giant Blackstone is expected to win over at least three-quarters of HSF’s shareholders with itsfor $468 million. But though their runs were short, these funds transformed how the investment world sees music.

But interest rates may have been the death knell. When rates were low, HSF and Round Hill offered attractive returns for an acceptable level of risk, but when rates began rising, the funds’ dividends weren’t nearly as attractive. By the end of 2022, the Bank of England’s official bank rate rose to 3.5%, which put downward pressure on HSF’s share price because the risk-free rate wasn’t far from the fund’s dividend. Round Hill was similarly affected.

Institutional investors’ need for a specific rate of return is an approach that works well with established music catalogs that consistently generate cash. Shares in Universal Music Group or Warner Music Group are “speculative” investments that could lose money or produce double-digit gains, says a bank source, who adds that “public investors are growth investors, not just cash flow investors” who seek a steady return.

ABS deals are complex and involve ongoing administration and generally high costs, but they can be worth the effort. “Each structure has its pros and cons, and each is better-suited to varying market conditions,” Reservoir Media CEOsays he prefers the flexibility of securitizations over traditional debt: “We’ve very much liked the capital structure that allowed us to relatively easily draw new debt for new acquisitions.

In general, though, institutional investors see music as a safe asset class over time. “There has been strong demand for every music ABS deal we have done,” the same source says. “As some of the retail money is walking away,” Saure adds, “institutions are becoming more confident.”

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