Billboard interviewed Manatt’s Gary Gilbert and Charles Biederman, co-chairs of the firm’s music practice, for an article on the current songwriter catalog market. According to the publication, songwriters can sell their catalogs containing hits for ten to 16 times the net publishing share, with independent publishers leading the “shopping spree.”
The demand for songwriting catalogs is showing no signs of slowing down, with publishers quoting ranges between $250,000 and $50 million. “I thought it was going to peak last year,” said Gilbert. “But it didn’t. It’s an amazing time.”
Many songwriters, however, are waiting for streaming revenue to catch up to its promise, and that lag is helping drive catalog sales.
“It will be a while before a writer is paid his or her due on Spotify the way labels are, so for some of these folks, they can pull the money out of a catalog and buy real estate or some other investment that will provide a better rate of return over the next ten years,” said Biederman.