An increasing number of companies are offering sales of fractional music rights, or micro-slices of rights in a composition or recording. These offerings are designed to provide liquidity to creators while simultaneously allowing fans to participate in real ownership of an artist’s work. However, these offering also come with complex legal challenges under both securities law and copyright law. This panel will discuss these legal issues, and how some of the companies in this space are addressing them.

As more catalog acquisitions occur, the marketplace is becoming more sophisticated. Buyers are becoming increasingly aware of previously unknown risks and inefficiencies, which are now being reflected in these transactions. In addition, the changing economic climate is simultaneously attracting new buyers while affecting pricing as a result of changing interest rates, exchange rates, royalty rates, and more. This panel will discuss many of these issue in depth form the perspective of experienced principals, attorneys and advisors. (Mondo attendees are welcome to attend all CLE panels.)

The catalog sale market continues to expand and evolve, with existing buyers expanding their holdings, the major labels getting back into acquisitions, and new players emerging on a weekly basis. In addition, the types of assets being acquired, and the deal sizes (both larger and smaller), are broadening in ways never before seen. This panel will discuss these changes in the marketplace and will feature the voices of several prominent buy-side and sell-side experts as they discuss how these changes are affecting the deal-making process.

The M&A market for music catalogs and companies has evolved significantly over the past few years. New buyers are entering the marketplace on a regular basis, with funding from a range of domestic and foreign investors. Writers and rights owners who had not considered selling are now rethinking those decisions as sale multiples continue to increase. As the economic impact of streaming continues to develop, valuation models continue to evolve in ways that are more favorable to sellers, especially of more recent material. All of this is complicated by the COVID-19 crisis and its current and predicted effect on licensing income and the consumer market. This panel will cover how the M&A market continues to develop and how it is likely to be impacted by these changes to industry economics.