Publishers, in general, are not big on the triumphal talk we’ve been hearing from the record side of late—they’re prone to a glass-half-empty perspective even on the streaming boom. But even they can’t deny that the revenue is flowing as it hasn’t for some time. And publishing is attracting mad investment, with EMI Music Publishing, SONGS, Imagem (acquired in June by Concord Bicycle), Carlin and ole among the targets of pricey purchasing derbies and/or speculation about same. Add to that mix big spends from private-equity-boosted houses like Round Hill and lavish deals for creatives like hitmaker Ryan Tedder, whose pact with Downtown, announced in April, was said to be valued at around $65-70m.
This holiday season finds the big pub players (and a few smaller ones) with considerable reason to celebrate—with the aforementioned streaming boom supplemented by the Grammy nominations windfall and other happy news.
