DLA Piper advises Concord in its US$1.8 billion record-breaking music securitization

DLA Piper represented Concord, a leading independent music company, in its historic US$1.8 billion music securitization.

Apollo Global Management (Apollo) and Redding Ridge Asset Management structured the ABS transaction and formed an investor syndicate led by Apollo-managed funds. The transaction is the largest ABS offering of music rights in the history of the industry in terms of both size of issuance and number of assets, totaling over one million copyrights.

Concord is an independent, worldwide leader in developing, managing and acquiring sound recordings, music publishing and theatrical performance rights. Concord’s current roster includes such chart-topping and critically acclaimed songwriters as The 1975, Glen Ballard, Tyler Bates, Fiona Bevan, BIA, Jason Robert Brown, Tofer Brown, Daft Punk, Chase + Status, Cautious Clay, Jacob Collier, Denzel Curry, James Earp, Noah Goldstein, Ruston Kelly, Tom Kitt, Daniel Lanois, Hillary Lindsey, Duff McKagan, Josh Miller, Oh Wonder, Justin Parker, Steve Robson, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Biff Stannard, Varren Wade, Walshy Fire, Tion Wayne and Yola.

“This milestone long-term capital solution further cements Concord as a staple in the industry, and we are grateful for DLA Piper’s guidance in this historic transaction,” said Bob Valentine, President of Concord.

“We’re very excited to have assisted Concord structure this groundbreaking transaction,” said Robert J. Sherman, co-chair of DLA Piper’s Entertainment Finance practice. “This is the third music rights ABS deal that DLA has been involved with in the past 18 months, an accomplishment that establishes DLA Piper as a leader in the music securitization space.”

DLA’s team was co-led by Claire Hall (Los Angeles), who is a partner in the firm’s structured finance group with a focus on ABS transactions. DLA’s global deal team included experts in media, structured finance, corporate, tax, IP and other specialties across our global platform, from the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, Australia and across multiple European jurisdictions. DLA’s US team also included partners Gerald Rockoff (New York) and Mark Friedman (Baltimore); special counsel Steven Lozner (New York); and associates John Wei (Boston), Rachel Fertig (Washington, DC), Payvand Coyle, Kali Jelen, Chaliz Taghdis, Rachel Lee, Sevag Kechichian, Ian Boardman, Monica Zwolinski and Kevin Dong (all in Los Angeles).

The Europe-based deal team included partners Mark Dwyer, Ben Brown and Ruth Hoy (all London), Stephen Engel (Hamburg), Cornelius Frie (Cologne), Erwin Simons and Caroline Hoste (both in Brussels), Manon den Boer (Amsterdam), Frank Valentin (Paris); counsel Romain Guénin (Paris) and Hélène Van Steenberge (Brussels); and associates Devanshu Jain, Anthony Marcou and Clara Fong (all in London), Patrick Reuter (Frankfurt), Gilles Leyssen (Brussels), Maha Gharbi and Meriem Larbi (both in Paris).

DLA Piper's market-leading international team of media, sport and entertainment lawyers, located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, advises on M&A, finance, borrowing, investment and corporate issues, production and rights acquisitions, exploiting media rights, staging and exploiting live sports and other events, intellectual property protection and enforcement, regulatory and administrative issues, antitrust and competition law, stadium and arena development and on the resolution of disputes.