Warner Music Group has today (February 6) confirmed that it has acquired a controlling stake in Tempo Music Investments aka Tempo Music.
Tempo’s previous owner, Providence Equity Partners, holds on to a minority stake in Tempo as part of the deal.
MBW first told you about the Warner acquisition last month.
The final deal is understood to have valued Tempo at north of $450 million.
Moelis & Company acted as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal advisor to Tempo and Providence.
Tempo’s catalog of rights and income streams includes interests in songs recorded by the likes of Twenty One Pilots’ Tyler Joseph, multi-platinum-selling recording artist Wiz Khalifa, country duo Florida Georgia Line, Grammy -winning songwriters Brett James and Shane McAnally, as well as Lukas Graham songwriters Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard, Morten Ristorp Jensen, and Jaramye Daniels.
Interestingly, these individuals are also signed to Warner Chappell Music as songwriters.
Elsewhere, Tempo has acquired rights from the likes of the Jonas Brothers, Ben Rector, and Korn, plus Grammy-winning songwriters/producers Philip Lawrence, Malay, and Jeff Bhasker.
The potential acquisition of Tempo has been a long-running story since Providence launched the company in 2019 in partnership with Warner Music Group.
Buyout discussions with various parties took place in 2022, but cooled as interest rates rose in key markets including the US.
More recently, MBW heard whispers that newer players in the market – with rumors including Concord and HarbourView – may end up swooping for Tempo.
But in the end, it’s Warner Music Group – in the largest company acquisition under Robert Kyncl, since he became WMG CEO in 2022.
It’s also the first major acquisition at Warner for ex-Goldman Sache exec Michael Ryan-Southern, who Kyncl hired as EVP, Corporate Development at WMG last year.
Many expected Ryan-Southern’s first acquisition to arrive in music’s indie distribution space; it sends an interesting message that it has in fact been IP-ownership-focused.
In a press release, Warner – which will obviously get a revenue boost from the Tempo buy – said: “Through its disciplined approach to investments and collaborative work with creative talent, Tempo has amassed a diverse portfolio that focuses on empowering artists and songwriters, while delivering compelling financial results. WMG’s investment will also become more accretive over time, as other rights revert to Tempo, and expand the scope of WMG’s administration and distribution.”
Guy Moot, Co-Chair and CEO of Warner Chappell commented: “By acquiring Tempo’s impressive catalog, we’re expanding Warner Chappell’s reach, bringing rights from songwriters we currently don’t represent, as well as additional rights from songwriters with whom we’re already partners. Tempo has assembled a thoughtful, well-rounded catalog and I’m excited to dig into new opportunities and unlock more value for these songs.”
Michael Ryan-Southern, WMG’s EVP, Chief Corporate Development Officer, added: “WMG and Tempo have a long-standing history and aligned interests in uplifting great music and catalogs. This deal is a natural fit for us, and a good example of how our investment strategy is designed to build our scale and influence, while delivering additional revenue at a high margin.”
Michael Dominguez, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Providence, said: “The Tempo team has built a high-quality catalog over the years with top artists and songwriters, and has benefitted from a close partnership with WMG since its foundation.
“This is an exciting next step in the company’s evolution and a natural home for its catalog. We look forward to continuing to work with WMG and to support Tempo’s next phase of growth.”Music Business Worldwide