Acquisition #25: Jay Sean, Enrique Iglesias, Rihanna and Ciara
Description
We recently listed the songwriter’s share of public performance earnings for this catalog — you can review that exciting auction here.
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Now up for bid is the publishing share, featuring three types of royalties: mechanical, public performance, and sync for this collection highlighted by hot hip-hop artist Joyner Lucas.
Key Drivers
Income Mix. The winner of this auction can receive income in various ways:
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Mechanical: Royalties paid to songwriters and publishers when music is sold (think CD or vinyl) but also when music is streamed “on-demand” (like Spotify).
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Performance: Royalties paid to songwriters when music is performed publicly. Music played over the radio, in a restaurant or bar, or over a service like Spotify or Pandora is considered a public performance.
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Synchronization: Royalties paid to songwriters and publishers for the licensing of a song in music for a movie, TV show, or commercial.
Financial Highlights
Mechanical royalties are the top-contributor for this catalog at 56% of last year’s returns. YouTube royalties follow with 25% of earnings and consist of revenue generated on the YouTube platform, including ad revenue.
Looking at the song income mix, five singles accounted for 70% of royalties in the last 12 months. The highest-earning track is “I Love” with 27% of last year’s returns.
About the Catalog
This hip-hop catalog features songs from two artists with loyal followings: Joyner Lucas and Token. Both artists are quickly rising names in the hip-hop game.
Leading royalties is the single “I Love” by Joyner Lucas with 27%. The track was the lead single (released in October 2018) and then on Lucas’ forthcoming debut studio album ADHD (released in March 2020). The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 10 and was Lucas’ first top-10 record. “I Love” is certified Gold and to date has nearly 125 million streams on Spotify, making it Joyner’s second-most popular song on the platform.
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Also from Joyner Lucas is “ISIS” featuring Grammy-nominated Logic, bringing in 17% of last year’s royalties. The unlikely collaboration was a result of the two artists marking the end of a rivalry. “ISIS” was released as the third single from ADHD in 2019 and debuted at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, Joyner’s highest-charting song as lead artist. “ISIS” is Joyner’s most popular song on Spotify with 157+ million spins.
Another notable track is “Sriracha” from hip-hop vetran Tech N9ne featuring Joyner Lucas and Logic.
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The remaining top tracks in the catalog come from artist Token: “YouTube Rapper” featuring hip-hop veteran Tech N9ne and “Code Red.” On August 5th, 2020, Token announced his partnership with Atlantic Records to form his own label — Never Too Different — an exciting move for an independent artist signing with a major label.