Some 17 months after Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings LLC acquired Big Machine Label Group and all of its recorded music assets, the veteran manager has sold the master rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums.
According to variety, the buyer, an investment fund, is as yet unknown but the deal is
believed to be worth of $300 million and closed in the last two weeks.
Some insiders speculate the value could be as high as $450 million once certain earn-backs are factored in.
Ithaca purchased the Nashville-based independent record label Big Machine,
founded by Scott Borchetta in 2005, in June 2019 for just over $300 million, of which
Swift’s catalog — from her 2006 self-titled debut to 2017’s “Reputation” — was believed to be worth some $140 million.
The acquisition encompassed all aspects of BMLG’s business, including its client roster,
distribution deals, publishing and owned artist masters.
Swift signed with BMLG at the beginning of her career. Her contract with the label expired in fall 2018, after which she signed a deal for future recordings with Universal Music Group.
