Rostrum Pacific secured a $150 million financing deal from New York-based Crayhill Capital Management to gasoline its catalog-acquisition ambitions.

The mother or father firm of indie powerhouse Rostrum Records introduced the partnership Thursday, marking a serious growth of its technique to turn out to be “the preeminent independent music company.”

The financing comes from Crayhill Capital Management, a non-public credit score specialist managing $2.9 billion in belongings. Rostrum Pacific CEO Benjy Grinberg plans to make use of the funds to pursue catalog alternatives “of any scale” and combine them into the corporate’s established ecosystem.

Rostrum Records constructed its repute by discovering and growing breakthrough Hip-Hop expertise in Pittsburgh. Grinberg based the label in 2003 and shortly established it as a launching pad for future superstars.

The label signed Mac Miller in 2010 when he was simply 18 years previous, serving to remodel the younger Pittsburgh rapper right into a chart-topping artist whose debut album Blue Slide Park turned the primary independently distributed album to succeed in primary on the Billboard 200 since 1995.

Wiz Khalifa turned one other Rostrum success story after becoming a member of the label in 2007. His breakthrough single “Black and Yellow” turned a Pittsburgh anthem and launched him to mainstream stardom. Both artists helped set up Rostrum’s repute for figuring out uncooked expertise and growing it into industrial success.

The label expanded past its Pittsburgh roots through the years, ultimately consolidating a number of companies beneath the Rostrum Pacific umbrella in 2023. The firm now operates Rostrum Records, Fat Beats, Cantora Records and digital distribution platform SpaceHeater.

SpaceHeater launched final 12 months as an AI-powered music distribution and analytics platform. The expertise provides “unmatched transparency and accuracy” for monitoring how artists’ music will get used to coach AI fashions and figuring out truthful compensation for AI-generated outputs.

“Securing this funding reflects confidence in our value-creation strategy – one that leverages strategic partnerships and collaborative frameworks to drive high-value returns,” mentioned Scott Margolin, Rostrum’s Chief Financial Officer, who led negotiations with Crayhill.

“With this backing, we’re expanding our reach and deepening our commitment to ensure that music under our care gets heard,” Margolin added. “We’re focused on catalog we can actively grow – whether it’s assets we acquire or the catalog we’ve been building for more than 20 years.”

Jihane Hassad, Director of TMT Investment Group at Crayhill, praised Rostrum’s “compelling in-house model that drives value creation and strategic growth.” Crayhill has invested over $500 million throughout its Technology, Media & Telecom technique, together with investments in music, movie and TV libraries.

The deal positions Rostrum Pacific to compete within the more and more aggressive music catalog acquisition market. Major labels and funding corporations have poured billions into buying music rights as streaming revenues proceed rising globally.

Rostrum’s catalog, beforehand distributed by ADA, is now out there solely by means of SpaceHeater. The December 11 announcement indicators the corporate’s aggressive push to broaden its music portfolio and set up itself as a serious impartial participant within the evolving music trade panorama.

Related