Warner Bros and Cutting Edge partnering to
enhance the music library's value
LOS
ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Warner Bros.
Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD) and Cutting Edge Group ("CEG"), the
leading specialist investor in and manager of media music rights,
have partnered to create a joint venture (the "JV") through which
they will co-own WBD's vast catalog of film and TV music. WBD will
retain creative and operational control of the music rights while
CEG, further to its investment into the business, will jointly
manage the JV. The creation of the JV is, by value, one of the
largest music rights deals ever transacted and spans almost 100
years of copyrights.
Together, WBD and CEG will focus on maximizing the distribution
and revenue potential of the music portfolio, which contains more
than 400,000 compositions and song cues, including some of the most
recognized theme songs and scores in television and movie history.
DWS Group is co-investing and sponsoring the transaction alongside
CEG.
The library includes music from the Harry Potter and Lord of the
Rings franchises, DC Comics movies, as well as TV shows such as
Friends, Game of Thrones, The Big Bang
Theory, Two and Half Men, Succession, and
The White Lotus. Other iconic films and TV series
represented in the portfolio include Rebel Without a
Cause, The Exorcist, A Star is Born, Blade
Runner, Shawshank
Redemption, The West Wing, ER, Full
House, Sex and The City and Gossip
Girl.
The compositions from the Warner Brothers, HBO and Turner
Networks catalogs will continue to be administered by Universal
Music Publishing Group, while those from the Discovery/Scripps
Networks catalog will remain under the administration of Sony Music
Publishing.
Paul Broucek, President,
Music, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: "This partnership with CEG
is the perfect way to expand access to our unparalleled music
library while honoring our long history of strong creative
oversight and protecting the integrity of the works and artists.
Together with CEG, we can find new and exciting ways to entertain a
new generation of fans."
Philip Moross, CEO of Cutting
Edge Group, said: "This truly is an iconic assembly of
catalogs created over almost a century by one of Hollywood's original studios and to have the
opportunity to invest in and manage this JV alongside WBD is an
incredibly exciting prospect for us. This special partnership with
Warner Bros. is the culmination of many years work on the part of
our team at Cutting Edge and is a strong endorsement of our early
conviction and specialist expertise in this area of the
market."
Tara Finegan, COO of Cutting
Edge Group, added: "Cutting Edge is singularly placed to
participate in a transaction of this nature, which is a testament
to the strength and skill of our team, led by Tim Hegarty, our Head of M&A and Corporate
Strategy. We are looking forward to working closely with our
friends at Warner Bros. to grow the value that this irreplaceable
portfolio already holds, while bringing the magic of these
compositions to even more audiences around the world."
Vlado Spasov, Head of Capital
Solutions at DWS Group, said: "We are proud to join forces
with Cutting Edge and invest in partnership with Warner Bros in
this strategic joint venture. This transaction exemplifies our
strategy of delivering flexible and tailored capital solutions that
empower asset owners and management teams to execute their vision
with speed, certainty and control."
CEG is the industry's foremost integrated owner and operator of
media music assets. It has a 19-year track record of success in
this specialist segment of the market and industry leading
expertise across its team in generating additional value from media
music, underpinning WBD's decision to partner with them.
About Cutting Edge Group:
Cutting Edge Group is a majority family-owned business that
specializes in acquiring and managing media music rights. Founded
in 2006 and led by CEO Philip
Moross, a pioneer in the market of music for film and tv,
CEG has assembled a specialist portfolio of more than 2,000 titles
across soundtrack albums, publishing assets and royalty income
streams, comprising music that has featured in some of the world's
most recognized film, tv, theatre productions and video games,
including John Wick, Elf, Star
Trek: Discovery, Moonlight, The Office, South Park, NCIS:
Los Angeles, The Morning Show,
Stranger Things, The Crown, Suits, The Walking Dead, Bridgerton,
Ted Lasso, Glee, Aquaman, Drive,
Matilda: The Musical, Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed
Valhalla.
About Warner Bros. Discovery:
Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and
entertainment company that creates and distributes the world's most
differentiated and complete portfolio of branded content across
television, film, streaming and gaming. Available in more than 220
countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery
inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its
iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max,
discovery+, CNN, DC, TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food
Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT,
TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner
Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner
Bros. Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema,
Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en
Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please
visit www.wbd.com.
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