Shares in One Media iP soared more than 16% on Monday, after the music publisher and distributor snapped up the producer royalties of a selection of tracks by pop group Take That from British songwriter and DJ Ian Levine.
One Media iP
OMIP,
+13.09%,
which is listed on London’s junior AIM stock market, said that the tracks included “A Million Love Songs,” “Could It Be Magic” and “I Found Heaven,” from Take That’s debut 1992 studio album “Take That & Party,” which has been certified two-times platinum in the U.K.
The company said it has also acquired the producer royalties of two other recorded Take That tracks that have never been released.
Shares in One Media iP surged 16.36% to 8 pence in midafternoon London trading.
A string of high-profile artists have struck lucrative deals to sell their music rights in recent weeks, as publishing houses look to cash in on the boom in music valuations amid the popularity of streaming services like Spotify
SPOT,
-6.56%
and Apple Music
AAPL,
-1.37%.
Songwriter catalogs are fetching sale prices 10 to 18 times annual royalties, compared with 8 to 13 times in previous years, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Read: 5 reasons musicians like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Stevie Nicks are selling their song catalogs right now
Last week, Colombian pop star Shakira sold 100% of the publishing rights to her 145-song catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund
SONG,
+0.82%.
The deal continued the aggressive acquisition spree by London-listed Hipgnosis, which earlier in January announced deals for rights to music by veteran rock star Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and record producer Jimmy Iovine.
Read: Neil Young strikes heart of gold with 50% sale of song catalog to publishing house
Companies like Hipgnosis invest in songs and musical intellectual property rights, and generate revenues by turning music royalties into a steady income stream, making money each time one of their songs is played on the radio or featured in a television advert or film.
One Media, which completed a £6 million ($8.1 million) fundraise in August 2020, said the acquisition of producer royalties to many of Take That’s top hits was “for a modest consideration.”
Since the boy band was formed in Manchester in 1990, it has achieved 28 top 40 singles and 17 top 5 singles in the U.K. Singles Chart, 12 of which have reached number one, including ‘Back for Good’ and ‘Greatest Day.’
