Primary Wave is making it rain.
After raising a $375 million investment from Oaktree Capital in June, according to MBW calculations, the acquisitive publisher has already spent more than half of that sum on music rights in less than six months.
Today (December 7), MBW can reveal that Primary Wave has struck yet another big deal, this time with Jim Peterik – a band member of Survivor, The Ides of March, and 38 Special, and the co-writer/producer of Eye Of The Tiger.
Primary Wave says that the bundle of rights it’s acquiring from Peterik includes a “majority stake in the royalties from the Grammy winner’s entire music publishing catalog, and rights to many of its legendary songs”.
MBW sources suggest that the transaction was worth approximately $20 million.
In the six months prior to the Jim Peterik deal, Primary Wave announced purchases including a 50% stake in the master recordings of musician Chris Isaak (a ‘multi-million dollar’ deal), followed by the acquisition of a stake in the Prince Estate in August.
An article from the Wall Street Journal noted that Primary Wave was “lined up to own about 42%” of the Prince estate, which the WSJ added is “valued somewhere between $100 million and $300 million”.
A conservative estimate, therefore, would suggest that Primary Wave’s deals with Prince’s heirs came to a combined $40 million-plus.
Primary Wave has also recently snapped up stakes in the catalogs of artists such as TOTO drummer Jeff Porcaro (an estimated $30 million deal), Gerry Goffin ($20 million), Bing Crosby ($50 million+), and Luther Vandross ($40 million).
And just last week, Primary Wave bought a stake in the rights of R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass in yet another multi-million-dollar transaction.
As MBW readers will know, Primary Wave’s acquisition spree is happening against a backdrop of a supercharged catalog M&A market.
One particularly notable trend in this space of late: Financial giants like Blackstone, Apollo and KKR getting cozier with the music business, and pouring billions of dollars into it.
Yet as one plugged-in music biz jester told MBW earlier today: “Yes, some are out there raising big money – but Primary Wave is out there spending big money.”
Could Primary Wave’s quick succession of multi-million dollar deals precede another huge round of investment following that $375 million raise in the summer?
Jim Peterik, whose music career spans nearly 50 years and counting, has 18 top 10 credits and his his co-writes include Burning Heart, High On You and I Can’t Hold Back. Other highlights from his extensive catalog include 38 Special’s platinum hits Hold On Loosely and Caught Up In You, and a Peterik-penned crown jewel, Vehicle, a song he wrote in 1970 while a member of The Ides of March.
Vehicle appeared on the band’s debut album and shot to No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to be a huge commercial success for the group.
Also notable is Peterik’s multi-platinum Eye of the Tiger. With the help of the movie Rocky III, which featured Eye of the Tiger as its theme song, the single spent six weeks at No.1 on the Billboard 100 and would become Survivor’s defining single.
The song was nominated for two Grammy awards, winning for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1982.
Primary Wave says that Peterik will also have access to its marketing team and publishing infrastructure, which includes digital strategy, branding, licensing, synch opportunities, as well as film, television, and theatrical production.
“I’m thrilled to be with a company who is as passionate about music as I am. Primary Wave’s roster speaks for itself.”
Jim Peterik
“I’m thrilled to be with a company who is as passionate about music as I am. Primary Wave’s roster speaks for itself,” said Jim Peterik.
“It seems that many of my musical heroes feel the same way! I’m looking forward to great days ahead creating new music and finding new homes for the many songs in my catalog.”
“It was love at first sight and we knew then that it would only be a matter of time to have Jim join the Primary Wave family. We are ecstatic to be working with such a legend.”
Jeff Straughn, Primary Wave Music
Jeff Straughn, Chief Brand Officer at Primary Wave Music added: “We met Jim almost four years ago where he invited us back to his home studio after a lovely lunch.
“It was love at first sight and we knew then that it would only be a matter of time to have Jim join the Primary Wave family. We are ecstatic to be working with such a legend.”Music Business Worldwide