(RTTNews) - Global investment firm KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR), and three-time Grammy award winning songwriter, producer and lead vocalist of OneRepublic Ryan Tedder, said Monday that KKR has agreed to acquire a majority stake of the music catalog of Tedder and OneRepublic, including music publishing and recorded music rights. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Following the acquisition, Tedder will retain an interest in his music alongside KKR. Tedder's management, Patriot Management, and artist development company mtheory, through its MTC Music Royalties fund, will also participate in the equity transaction. Interscope Records will continue to own the master recordings of OneRepublic.
The catalog includes nearly 500 songs written, recorded or produced by Tedder for OneRepublic and other artists.
This includes songs Tedder has written with Beyonce, U2, Paul McCartney, Adele, Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, Cardi B, Jonas Brothers, and Thomas Rhett.
It also includes all OneRepublic songs such as massive hits "Apologize," "Secrets" and "Counting Stars," which just passed 40 million in sales and is one of the highest selling singles in Interscope Records' history.
Songs written by Tedder have sold over 420 million copies, or the equivalent of 63 billion streams.
KKR said it is investing in the catalog through its Dislocation Opportunities Fund and private credit vehicles.
KKR has experience investing in artist-centric businesses, including Gibson Brands, Alpha Theta (f.k.a. Pioneer DJ) and BMG.
The firm also has experience investing in the digital media and content sectors, including investments in ByteDance (TikTok), Jio Platforms, Epic Games, AppLovin, OverDrive, RBmedia, WebMD, UFC, Leonine, Next Issue Media and Nielsen.
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