Harmony has acquired the publishing catalog of Mojo Music & Media, a catalog that features over 30,000 works. Based in 2018 by Mark Fried, Peter Shane and Alan Wallis, Mojo Music & Media’s holdings embrace parts of songs recorded by REO Speedwagon, KISS, Low-cost Trick, Duran Duran, Earth Wind & Hearth and extra.
The acquisition comes simply after Harmony introduced that it made a beneficial bid to purchase Spherical Hill Music Royalty Fund Restricted.
Since its founding, Mojo Music & Media has grown shortly, competing with extra established rivals for evergreen catalogs. In 2019, the corporate partnered with Crestline Buyers, Inc. to fund additional acquisitions. Quickly, it had purchased greater than 40 catalogs.
Catalogs within the Mojo Music & Media portfolio embrace: HoriPro Leisure (REO Speedwagon, Kiss, Jerry Reed), Emerald Forest (Sophie B. Hawkins, Brownstone, Lita Ford), Rick Nielson (Low-cost Trick), Warren Cuccurullo (Lacking Individuals, Duran Duran), Bob Morrison (“Lookin’ For Love”), Sharon Vaughn (“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”), Larry Gatlin (“All The Gold In California”), D.L. Byron (“Shadows Of The Night”), Jeffrey Cohen (“Freeway Of Love”), Earth Wind & Hearth’s Al McKay (“September,” “Best Of My Love”), English Beat and Common Public’s Dave Wakeling (“Save It For Later,” “Tenderness”), Jordan Reynolds (author of Dan + Shay hits “Tequila,” “Speechless,” and “10,000 Hours”), Jacknife Lee (Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, and Kodaline) and the estates of Johnny Burke (“Misty”), Bernie Wayne (“Blue Velvet”) and Johnny Russell (“Act Naturally”).
My almost 30-year journey in music publishing has all the time been about surrounding myself with the best songwriters, getting them paid, holding them impressed, and elevating the facility of their songs in popular culture so that they vibrate ceaselessly,” says Mark Fried, Mojo’s Co-Founder and CEO. “Concord has been on the same mission since its founding, and my partners and I feel like we’ve come full circle working with [Concord’s Chief Business Development Officer] Steve Salm, whom I’ve known and respected since his first days in the business, and other old friends at Concord to bring our catalogs together. I feel a deep responsibility to the artists, songs, and legacies we represent and I’m excited to see them continue to prosper in the hands of such capable and passionate caretakers.”
“We are delighted to have supported Mojo through their successful ramp up and aggregation of their catalogue. All aspects of our involvement with Mark and team have been outstanding. It is a great example of our desire to use our capital to build valuable asset platforms,” stated Michael Man, chief funding iofficer of Crestline Europe.
Steve Salm, Harmony’s chief enterprise growth officer, remarked, “Mark Fried is a true original who’s repeatedly seen the value in songs and catalogs well before market trends, always putting songwriters first. Over the last several decades, he’s built two premier independent catalogs with Mojo here and Spirit Music prior, winning the trust of some of the most legendary songwriters and artists. With Mojo, Mark, Pete, and Alan have assembled a stellar collection of incredible hits spanning genres, eras, and territories. The Mojo catalog is a perfect fit with Concord’s catalogs, and we’re honored by the trust they’ve now put in us.”
Harmony was represented by Ritholz Levy Fields LLP (Adam Ritholz, Cody Brown, John Brill, Gillian Sloane, Amanda Inglesh, and Jason Barth), and by DLA Piper, Rob Sherman. Shot Tower Capital acted as unique monetary advisor to Mojo. Mojo was represented by Reed Smith LLP as authorized counsel.
