Shamrock Reportedly Pursues Taylor Swift Catalog Sale

Shamrock Capital is actively trying to offload Taylor Swift’s authentic masters – at the very least in response to one new report, which is attaching an astonishing price ticket to the potential deal.

Page Six’s Jeanette Settembre offered an summary of the rumored catalog divestment, although on the time of this writing, Shamrock didn’t appear to have commented publicly on the matter. Nor had the billionaire Swift, to whom the funding agency is reportedly being inspired to promote the IP, weighed in.

However, judging by the talked about piece’s framing and pricing particulars, it isn’t too tough to guess which events are forwarding associated data to the media. As laid out by the report, none apart from Scooter Braun is encouraging Shamrock (through which RidgeLake and Bonaccord took a stake in 2022) to promote the masters to Swift.

That refers back to the recordings behind Swift’s first six albums, which, as described by the report, would carry a “price tag…in the ballpark of $600 million to $1 billion.”

Even the low finish right here, many will acknowledge directly, is considerably greater than the $300 million or in order that Shamrock reportedly paid Braun and Carlyle Group for the recordings again in November 2020.

Runaway inflation and sustained profession success or not, it’s unclear whether or not the huge return is a practical goal or a method of setting the negotiating tone, notably given Swift’s “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings of the identical works.

Not solely are these re-recordings doing big numbers on streaming, however because of Swift’s attain {and professional} connections, they’re the renditions making their approach into packages like The Handmaid’s Tale, trailers, high-profile advert campaigns, and extra.

(Per studies, Universal Music didn’t hesitate to change its artist agreements to keep away from re-recording fiascos down the road.)

On the possession entrance, the competing catalogs tie again to a set of problems that don’t precisely scream “billion-dollar deal” – particularly since Swift herself is presumably removed from wanting to cough up the high-end sum for the recordings.

(Shifting the main target to the other facet of the potential transaction as soon as extra, the industrial potentialities related to authorizing AI coaching on the unique masters is value contemplating as effectively.)

Price-tag questions apart, it appears believable that Shamrock, primarily for the above-outlined causes but in addition in mild of its more and more assorted song-rights holdings, could also be receptive to promoting. And as Swift definitely isn’t arduous up for money, it’ll be fascinating to see whether or not she’s open to a deal and, assuming so, whether or not the events can hammer out mutually passable phrases.