The Carlyle Group financed Ithaca Holding's purchase of Taylor Swift's music. Variety reported Ithaca flipped those master rights for a big payday.
Some 17 months after Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings LLC acquired Big Machine Label Group and all of its recorded music assets, sources tell Variety the veteran manager and entrepreneur has sold the master rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums. The buyer, an investment fund, is as yet unknown but the deal is believed to be north of $300 million and closed in the last two weeks. Some insiders speculate the value could be as high as $450 million once certain earn-backs are factored in.
Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein told Fox Business Maria Bartirome he "remained hopeful that the parties would be able to reach an agreement."
I do think there'll be a resolution of that in the near future," Rubenstein said. "Hopefully, [Swift] can continue to do very good music, but it's something that is more complicated than my being able to resolve it right here."
That was December 2019. Swift shared her efforts to purchase rights to her music. Swift wrote on social media to her more than 87 million
Twitter followers.
"As you know, for the past year I've been actively trying to regain ownership of my master recordings. With that goal in mind, my team attempted to enter into negotiations with Scooter Braun,""Scooters team wanted me to sign an ironclad NDA stating I would never say another word about Scooter Braun unless it was positive, before we could even look at the financial records of BMLG (which is always the first step in a purchase of this nature.""I would have to sign a document that would silence me forever before I could even have a chance to bid on my own work. My legal team said that this is absolutely NOT normal, and they've never seen an NDA like this presented unless it was to silence an assault accuser by paying them off. He would never even quote my team a price. These master recordings were not for sale to me."
Swift said that she was only made aware of Braun selling her masters after she received a letter from a private equity company, Shamrock Holdings, letting her know they had purchased her music, videos and album art."This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge." Swift continued. "The letter told me that they wanted to reach out before the sale to let me know, but that Scooter Braun had required that they make no contact with me or my team, or the deal would be off."Swift also posted a photo of a letter she wrote to Shamrock Holdings.
Swift is also currently re-recording her first six albums, amid a dispute over the master recordings with music mogul Scooter Braun. She told an American Music awards audience in November, via a video message: “The reason I’m not there tonight is I’m re-recording all of my old music in the studio we originally recorded it.”
Update 4-12-21: Swift re-released her Fearless album. Loyal fans are burying the old versions on Spotify.
Following Friday's midnight release of Fearless (Taylor's Version) — for which Swift re-recorded her music after failing to acquire the rights to her early albums two years ago — Swifties launched a campaign to bury the Big Machine version on Spotify.Hopefully the unnamed investment firm can claw-back money from Ithaca and The Carlyle Group. Taylor Swift, like the City of Missoula with Mountain Water, tried many times to buy back the rights to her music.
While the healthcare industry has permanently changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also accelerated key themes that our Global Healthcare team has been consistently focused on for years.
Three healthcare industry themes that we believe have been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic:
- Increased emphasis on diversified healthcare delivery (Brazilian hospital operator Rede D'or Sao Luis)
- A shift toward digital innovation and digital disruption (Grand Rounds, OneMedical)
- The importance of the bio-pharmaceutical revolution (TriNetX, PPD, Albany Molecular Research, Piramal)
Carlyle failed to mention the other ways it plans to profit from COVID-19.
Carlyle affiliates can conduct retrospective studies on COVID-19 (TriNetX), disinfect surfaces (Victory Innovations), screen airports for people with fever (Schneider Electric & HGH), test for COVID antibodies (Ortho Clinical), assist with blood plasma collection (MAK Systems), produce antibody drug conjugate (Piramal Pharma Solutions), ensure the maximum hospital bill for COVID-19 patients (TrustHCS), manufacture Ivermectin treatment (SeQuent Scientific) and make federal coronavirus purchasing something other than a clown show (Unison).
Coronavirus tea leaves suggest more PEU profits to come. Those leave can be wrong. Recall Carlyle drove LifeCare Hospitals and nursing home giant ManorCare into bankruptcy.
More investment by the greed and leverage boys is not a good sign for people struggling to pay for healthcare in the United States.
Update 3-13-21: The former PECKER Council highlighted PEU entries in COVID-19 care. PECKER is an abbreviation for Private Equity Capital Knowledge Executed Responsibly.
Update 6-9-24: Carlyle exited Brazilian hospital operator Rede D'Or.
GQ reported:
Denver-based VF Corporation, which owns Supreme collaborators like The North Face, Timberland, and Vans, as well as workwear brands like Dickies and Napapijri, announced this morning that it will acquire Supreme for $2.1 billion. Supreme’s current investors, The Carlyle Group and Goode Partners, will sell their stakes. You may recall that Carlyle paid $500 million for a 50% stake in Supreme back in 2017; as one writer has already joked, this makes The Carlyle Group the world’s most successful Supreme reseller.
Carlyle's website never listed Supreme as an affiliate. It did not post stories on its purchase or planned sale of Supreme. Private equity is contrary to streetwear cool. That discord grew when Carlyle owned flashbangs and pepper munitions were used on peaceful protesters.
Carlyle will make at least a double on its Supreme investment. Depending on the mix of debt and equity the profit multiple could be far higher than a simple 2X.
Supreme will be leaving as The Carlyle Group at an interesting time. There is a pandemic from which to profit.
President Elect Joe Biden chose Ron Klain as his White House Chief of Staff. Klain is Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Revolution LLC. Revolution LLC is considered a venture capital/private equity firm.
PEUReport ran pieces on Klain, the first in 2014 when he was named the Ebola Czar with no public health background. The second story ran in 2016 when Klain chose Hillary over Biden.
It's been a little hard for me to play such a role in the Biden demise - and I am definitely dead to them -- but I'm glad to be on Team HRC.
Somehow Candidate Joe Biden forgave Ron and his political rebirth came in a Biden "Here's the Deal" March 2020 podcast.
Politicians Red and Blue love PEU. The appointment of Ron Klain as Chief of Staff shows the greed and leverage boys remain firmly entrenched in America's Government-Corporate Monstrosity.
Update 11-12-20: Revolution LLC's Steve Case presented with The Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein at the Rise of the Rest CEO Summit in November 2019. Rubenstein should continue his preferred access to the White House under Biden and Chief of Staff Klain. Also, two potential Biden cabinet members were at the event, Eric Schmidt and Meg Whitman.
"We've become, now, an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that's been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I've ever seen in my life." -- Jimmy Carter
Update 11-19-20: Erin Brokovich wrote a letter to President Elect Joe Biden chastising him for putting a former DuPont consultant on his EPA Transition Board. It's a different kind of PEU.
Update 10-14-21: Biden Chief of Staff Klain believes inflation and supply chain problems only impact wealthy. That's patently laughable.
Corporate China's shiniest star was just days away from seeing his Ant Group list on the stock market in a record $37 billion deal, when he chose to launch a blistering public attack on the country's financial watchdogs and banks.
The regulatory system was stifling innovation and must be reformed to fuel growth, billionaire Ma told a summit in Shanghai on Oct. 24 attended by the great and the good of China's financial, regulatory and political establishment.
Stung by the attack, Chinese regulators and Communist Party officials set about reining in Ma's sprawling financial empire, culminating in the suspension of the IPO on Tuesday, two days before the eagerly awaited market debut in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the sources said.
The Carlyle Group invested in Ant Financial in May 2018 joining other investors in a $10 billion round which valued Ant at $150 billion. TechCrunch reported:
Ant would have sported a possible market valuation of more than $300 billion at its IPO price. Such a valuation would rank it amongst the most valuable companies in the world.
Carlyle's double is delayed at least six months according to FT.
The Carlyle Group's co-founder David Rubenstein built his vast fortune catering to the world's political elite, even employing some of them. Will Rubenstein try to smooth over Ant Financial's turbulent waters? Might he coach Jack Ma in the art of apology, given his history with Carlyle Capital Corporation and an angry Kuwait SWF?
It will be interesting to see how much Ma's honesty costs Carlyle in the end.
Update 11-12-20: Chinese President Xi pulled Ant's IPO according to the WSJ. That will take some serious apology horsepower.
Update 1-21-20: Carlyle's big payday from Ant is in jeopardy.
Update 2-9-21: There is no timeline for Carlyle to cash in on its Ant investment.
Update 3-18-21: Investor valued Ant Holdings at over $200 billion, down from $315 billion in the run up to the planned IPO.
Update 9-3-21: Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein spoke to the situation Ant Financial faces with the Chinese government in a Bloomberg interview. He said the problem arose from entrepreneurs, like Jack Ma, becoming larger than government officials in the public sphere.
Update 9-13-21: "Any wealthy person with an ounce of sense is keeping silent and bowing their heads, to avoid political fire, and in subservience to the Chinese Communist Party."
Update 10-25-21: Alibaba lost a whopping $344 billion in market capitalization. The biggest wipe-out of shareholder value globally came after Beijing suspended the listing of its fintech arm Ant Group.
The Milken Global Institute, the U.S. version of Davos, begins tomorrow. This is the first gathering since President Donald Trump pardoned junk bond king Michael Milken. The theme is "Meeting the Moment." How can those in positions of power continue to steer the system to their advantage during dual crises, a global pandemic and racial injustice? That is the unstated objective of most Institute sponsors. Two Institute sponsors recently admitted to breaking the law, Citadel and Citigroup.
Politicians Red and Blue love PEU and the speaker list is full of high profile Republicans and Democratic names. The Red Team has Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, FDA Chief Stephen Hahn and Republican political advisor Frank Luntz. The Blue Team has a broader showing with John Kerry, Senators Mark Warner and Chris Coons, Congressman James Clyburn, and former Obama officials Eric Holder and Susan Rice.
Carlyle Group CEO Kewsong Lee will be in a panel on "Leadership: Moving Beyond Conventional Thinking". Moderator Andy Serwer will tackle:
Even before the pandemic, the need for agility and constant innovation had become evident as technology disrupted every sector. How can you foster entrepreneurial spirit within corporate structures and ensure creative destruction? And how can leaders motivate others to embrace the need for constant transformation?
The Carlyle Group schooled on COVID-19 via its Chinese medical holdings and began to compile a coronavirus portfolio in February.
Carlyle affiliates can conduct retrospective studies on COVID-19 (TriNetX), disinfect surfaces (Victory Innovations), screen airports for people with fever (Schneider Electric & HGH), test for COVID antibodies (Ortho Clinical), assist with blood plasma collection (MAK Systems), produce antibody drug conjugate (Piramal Pharma Solutions), ensure the maximum hospital bill for COVID-19 patients (TrustHCS), manufacture Ivermectin treatment (SeQuent Scientific) and make federal coronavirus purchasing something other than a clown show (Unison). Coronavirus tea leaves suggest more PEU profits to come.
The Milken Global Institute will continue enriching the rich and empowering the powerful. It's the PEU way.
Update 10-13-20: Apollo founder Leon Black sent a letter to investors expressing his regret for associating with Jeffrey Epstein.
Update 10-14-20: Treasury Secretary Mnuchin commented on the stimulus package delay from Milken Global Institute. Dealbook reported how private White House meetings helped the greed and leverage boys make big money as the pandemic hit the U.S.
Update 10-17-20: Vista Equity founder Robert Smith reached a $140 million settlement with the Justice Department for tax evasion. More greed from the PEU boys.
Update 10-28-20: More problems at Vista Equity Partners from the firm's PEU ways. Fed money for Main Street goes unused as the PEU boys run dividend recaps on affiliates, debt for sponsor dividends. Insider trading is rampant with no accountability or oversight.
Update 12-31-21: A jury found Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking underage girls. She may now have an incentive to turn over Leon Black, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Prince Andrew and other high profile sexual predators.
FT's report on Milken's meeting is nearly cringe-worthy. Found it while looking to see if Milken ever flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane.
Update 3-6-22: Vista Equity's Robert Smith played a larger role in the $2 billion tax avoidance scheme by his partner.