Recognition Music Group, the company that holds publishing and recording rights of over 47,000 compositions from artists such as Justin Bieber, Journey, Shakira, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is selling $372 million worth of bonds, backed by its royalties, according to a Bloomberg report.
Backed by Blackstone Incorporated, the company was known as Hipgnosis, before rebranding in March 2025. Around 76 per cent of its catalogue portfolio consists of music released over a decade ago, the report said, citing information from a report by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
What makes the music business attractive for investors?
In recent years, the growing popularity of streaming services has helped bolster royalty cashflows, supporting exotic bonds tied to music assets. Streaming revenue from recorded music swelled to $20.4 billion in 2024, from about $1.8 billion a decade ago, Kroll notes, citing the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s 2025 Global Music Report.
London-headquartered Recognition has been tapping the song-backed debt market for some time, including as recently as the end of last year, when it sold $1.47 billion of notes. Its inaugural music royalty ABS was in 2022, when it sold $221.65 million of debt.
About Recognition Music Group…
The business was founded in 2018 by long-time music industry executive Merck Mercuriadis to buy song rights and was later acquired by Blackstone Inc. affiliates in 2021. Mercuriadis had spent decades managing artists like Elton John and Beyonce before founding Hipgnosis.
Barclays Plc is acting as lead bookrunner on Recognition’s latest proposed music royalty ABS. The rights in Recognition’s music catalog are administered by several organizations, including Sony Music Publishing, Kobalt and Universal Music Publishing Group.
Music royalty ABS volume so far this year is around $1.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
