Another day, another high-profile song rights deal – this time involving Randy Newman, who’s sold an interest in his catalog to Carlyle Global Credit-backed Litmus Music.
Litmus formally revealed its latest investment today, about six weeks after reportedly scooping up Opus Music Group. Running with the newer deal, the purchasing party says it’s specifically secured 80-year-old “Randy Newman’s share of his recorded music and publishing.”
Like with most recent catalog purchases, the buyer, at least in its official announcement, opted against identifying the precise financials at hand. (Other massive catalog deals are apparently closing without so much as a public disclosure.)
But Litmus did indicate that the agreement extends to the Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee’s well-known work on animated films including Toy Story as well as its sequels (Newman is the sole producer and songwriter on “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”), Cars, Monsters, Inc., and more.
Also as described by Litmus, the play includes a variety of Newman hits from decades past, among them 1983’s “I Love L.A.,” the 90s’ “Feels Like Home,” 1967’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” and Monk theme “It’s a Jungle Out There,” to name just a few.
All told, besides a variety of soundtrack albums (including for 1998’s Pleasantville and the more recent Marriage Story), Newman has released about a dozen full-length solo studio projects, including an eponymous 1968 debut and 2017’s Dark Matter.
Though Newman didn’t provide a statement about the sale for Litmus’ release, co-founder and CCO Dan McCarroll emphasized that he and his team “couldn’t be more proud and excited to acquire Randy’s catalog of beautiful, witty, and sharply observational songs.”
And in remarks of his own, Litmus co-founder and CEO Hank Forsyth touted the professional accomplishments and career of the 23-time Grammy nominee and seven-time winner.
“Randy’s music has touched so many generations,” communicated Forsyth. “His songs continue to transcend time and illuminate films. Dan and I and the entire Litmus team are so grateful Randy has trusted us as his partner to care for these songs and recordings. It is an honor and responsibility we don’t take lightly.”
For Litmus, the Newman partnership follows several seemingly sizable deals – including, besides the initially mentioned Opus play, IP pacts with Katy Perry, Benny Blanco, and, in its first investment after arriving on the scene in 2022, Keith Urban. (Details about these and hundreds of others are compiled in DMN Pro’s Music IP Acquisition Tracker.)
Meanwhile, notwithstanding the end of the company that kicked off the catalog-purchase craze, the likes of Reservoir Media, Sony Music (it turns out Pink Floyd was serious about selling after all), Jonas Group Publishing, Primary Wave, and HarbourView Equity Partners are still racking up song-rights investments as well.
