Sony Music Publishing has bought one of the Hipgnosis catalogues. And while that deal doesn’t impact on the rest of the Hipgnosis empire - which relaunched as Recognition Music Group in March - it is yet another acquisition further increasing the dominance of the majors.
But at least the latest big indie label acquisition, of the UK’s Cooking Vinyl, doesn’t involve a major. It's just been bought by Exceleration Music.
Given the majors, especially Universal Music, have been back in acquisition spree mode of late, the indie community - which has been very critical of Universal’s recent deals and is seeking to block its purchase of Downtown Music Holdings - should be happy with the Cooking Vinyl news.
Commenting on the Exceleration Music transaction, Cooking Vinyl founder Martin Goldschmidt says he was attracted to the deal partly because it allows the label to ramp up its presence internationally, but mainly because he and Exceleration’s top team have “the shared values of commitment to independence”.
The Hipgnosis deal has been confirmed in a note sent by Sony to songwriters whose works it has acquired. The deal specifically covers the bit of the Hipgnosis empire that previously operated as Hipgnosis Songs Group, which is basically the assets of the former US independent publisher Big Deal Music, which Hipgnosis bought in 2020.
“Sony Music Publishing now owns and administers the Hipgnosis Songs Group catalogue, serving as the full-service publisher for its clients and roster of songwriters globally”, the note reads. “With a unique roster of contemporary songwriters and timeless classics”, it goes on, buying Hipgnosis Songs Group “aligns with SMP’s mission to elevate and support the work of the world’s most impactful songwriters”.
The Hipgnosis empire was, at one point, a somewhat complicated collection of different companies, including two investment funds that had bought up lots of music rights - the publicly-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund and privately-owned Hipgnosis Songs Capital.
Then there was the company that advised those funds and managed their catalogues, Hipgnosis Song Management. And there was the catalogue, creative team and US rights administration set-up that came to Hipgnosis via its Big Deal acquisition, which was Hipgnosis Songs Group.
The fact there were basically four distinct entities all using the Hipgnosis brand and sharing the same Hipgnosis website became particularly entertaining when Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Song Management fell out, and started issuing statements dissing each other. All of which were posted on the same news page of that joint website.
Much of the Hipgnosis empire was owned by investment firm Blackstone, which ultimately bought the publicly-listed Fund too, ending all the controversies.
After that deal - and following the departure of Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis from the business - there was the big revamp and rebrand in March that aimed to simplify things. Fund, Capital and Management all now operate as the Recognition Music Group.
However, Hipgnosis Songs Group was not part of that revamp. At the time Blackstone, as its owner, said that particular business was under “strategic review”. Which ultimately led to the deal with Sony.
Whereas Universal is the biggest record company in the world, Sony is the biggest music publisher. And now it’s even bigger, with the HSG catalogue believed to include 4400 copyrights. According to Billboard, the catalogue includes songs recorded by Shawn Mendes, Panic! At The Disco, One Direction and Sabrina Carpenter.
Although not quite on the scale of some of Universal’s recent deals, the fact the Sony publisher is also in catalogue acquisition mode is likely to be discussed as the indie music sector puts pressure on competition regulators around the world, and especially in Europe, to stop further consolidation in the music rights market.
Part of the debate around that consolidation is what the alternatives are for the owners of successful independent record labels or music publishers who decide the time is right to sell. What options do those people have other than selling to Universal, Sony or Warner?
While there has been quite a lot of interest from private equity groups and other investment firms in buying up catalogues in recent years, providing another option for those looking to sell a label or publishing company, some of those equity firms are now partnering with or selling catalogue to the majors. Which means that trend doesn’t necessarily stop market consolidation in the longer term.
However, acquisitive independent businesses like Exceleration Music provide another option. It has bought and invested in a number of independent labels in recent years, as well as buying prominent independent distributor Redeye in 2023.
Announcing its latest deal, Exceleration says “Cooking Vinyl will integrate into Redeye’s industry-leading distribution platform and gain access to Exceleration’s global infrastructure, significantly expanding its growth opportunities worldwide”. Meanwhile, Exceleration itself “will be able to tap into Cooking Vinyl’s renowned artist marketing expertise”.
Cooking Vinyl will continue to operate independently as part of the Exceleration group, with Managing Director Rob Collins still leading the operation, while founder Martin Goldschmidt retains his current role of Chairman.
Commenting on the deal, Collins says, “Our artists will still benefit from our close-knit, highly personalised team that combines deep industry expertise with old-fashioned hard graft”.
“But now”, he adds, “with the expanded US capabilities, enhanced resources and the broader global reach of the Exceleration structure, we’re able to offer even stronger support to our current and future roster. I look forward to working with their team to spearhead this next phase for Cooking Vinyl!”
Goldschmidt states, “I have been running an independent label for over 40 years. This deal takes the label to the next level and offers far greater opportunities for our team and our artists”.
“The cultures and synergies between our companies are immense”, he goes on. “Creating a worldwide proposition is the obvious one but more important to me are the shared values of commitment to independence and caring about artists and our team”.