GoldState Music Secures $500 Million in Financing to Expand Music Portfolio

GoldState Music has raised $500 million in financing, the private investment firm announced on Thursday. Although specific details of the funding breakdown were not disclosed, the capital infusion consists of both equity and debt, and is described in a press release as a “structured capital facility… as well as separately raised leverage,” with Northleaf Capital Partners and Ares Management leading the deal. 

“Our new relationship with Northleaf and Ares marks the next step in the evolution of our music investing strategy,” GoldState founder and managing partner Charles Goldstuck, said in a statement. “This additional capital will enable us to further accelerate our ability to capitalize on increasing demand for music and build a diversified portfolio of music assets across artists and genres. As leading institutional investors, Northleaf and Ares bring critical experience that will support GoldState’s continued growth and differentiation to the benefit of our artists, investors and other stakeholders.”

Northleaf is a well-known investor in the music industry, having previously financed $500 million through Lyric Capital Group for Spirit Music Group in 2021 and $75 million for Duetti last year.

“Led by Charles, GoldState is well-positioned to execute on a disciplined music acquisition strategy, and Northleaf is pleased to support the Company and its exceptional team,” said CJ Wei, managing director, Private Credit at Northleaf. “Northleaf’s investment in GoldState directly aligns with our asset-based specialty finance strategy, which is designed to provide our investors with diversified and low correlation exposure while delivering strong cash yield.”

On the other hand, this appears to be the first music asset investment for Ares, or at least the first one they’ve publicly disclosed. 

“Charles and GoldState Music bring a bold, visionary approach to music rights investment that seeks to empower artists,” Ares Management managing director Jeevan Sagoo said in a statement. “We are excited to collaborate with them and provide Ares’ deep sector and investment experience as they advance their long-term growth and value creation strategy.”

GoldState Music has acquired catalogs from two boutique music asset investors, Catchpoint Partners and AMR Songs. These catalogs feature notable tracks such as Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights,” Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” and Panic! At The Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” Additionally, they include portions of songs and recordings by artists like Brantley Gilbert, Smash Mouth, and Avril Lavigne. The acquisition also encompasses John Sebastian’s writer share of all his compositions with the Lovin’ Spoonful, including “Summer In The City,” “Daydream” and “Do You Believe In Magic,” as well as rights from his solo career, including “Welcome Back.”

The GoldState website also lists other financial backers, including Flexpoint Ford, Pinnacle Financial Partners and Regions. Prior to founding GoldState, Goldstuck has had a long career in the music industry, having held senior executive positions at various major labels before becoming president and COO of the Bertelsmann Music Group.