Lyric Capital Raises $800M to Fuel More ‘High-Quality’ Catalog Acquisitions

The Lyric Capital Group says it raised over $800 million in new financing, closing its second fund that will be deployed in music asset investments through its publishing arm, the Spirit Music Group. The company further said that the new funding breaks out about 50/50 between equity and debt, with $410 million in equity commitments coming from existing and new institutional investors.

Overall, the company said the funding exceeded its target.

“I couldn’t be more excited about completing our latest fundraise with the participation of existing and new investors which validates our unique and collaborative approach to acquiring high-quality assets from recording artists and songwriters,” Lyric Capital co-founder/managing partner and Spirit Music Group chairman Jon Singer said in a statement. “Thanks to our relationships and proven reputation as good stewards of legendary song catalogs and recordings, we have a robust pipeline of proprietary opportunities and the capital to pursue them.”

Lyric Capital Group was formed in late 2018/early 2019 when Singer and then-Spirit vp of acquisitions and business development Ross Cameron led a buyout and recapitalization of Spirit Music.

“Since inception, Lyric Capital has transacted on over $800 million to develop outstanding catalogs of music, in partnership with artists and songwriters,” said Cameron, a Lyric Capital partner and co-founder. “Our disciplined investment approach is informed by our ownership of Spirit Music Group and supported by 25 years of proprietary music royalty data providing us with an unmatched insight when acquiring and managing copyrights. We are very pleased to close our second fund and thank our investors for their continued support of our unique platform.”

The company said it now owns and manages over 100,000 copyrights with both publishing and master recordings a part of the mix. Its catalog includes hits by The Who, Ed Sheeran, John Legend, Chicago, the Go-Go’s, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Camilla Cabello, Jay-Z, Ricky Martin, Brad Paisley, Toto, Madonna, Jason Aldean, Graham Nash, T.Rex, Charles Mingus, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Billy Squier, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Eminem, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Eminem, Salt-N-Pepa, Electric Light Orchestra, Tom Petty, The Traveling Wilburys and Lou Christie.

Eaton Partners served as the exclusive placement agent on the equity while Truist and Pinnacle led the debt consortium; and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel.