Round Hill Music buys O’Jays catalogue – Round Hill Music Royalty Fund has acquired 100% of the master royalty income of 532 original recordings from the American classic R&B group, The O’Jays.
Highlights:
- the catalogue comprises 532 original recordings, including hits such as “Love Train“, “Use Ta Be My Girl“, “Cry Together“, “Back Stabbers“, “For The Love of Money“, “Forever Mine“, “Put Your Hands Together“, “Stairway To Heaven” and “I Love Music“;
- the catalogue acquired includes 100% of The O’Jays master royalty income;
- “Back Stabbers” was their first million-seller album and it produced many more hit singles including “992 Arguments”, “Sunshine”, “Time to Go Down” and the No. 1 pop hit “Love Train”;
- the O’Jays “For The Love Of Money” was the theme song to the US hit reality TV show “The Apprentice”, bringing their music to a whole new generation;
- the O’Jays are two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductees for their songs “Love Train” and “For The Love of Money”, and were honoured with the BET 2009 Life Time Achievement Award and inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2013; and
- the O’Jays have achieved 10 gold and 9 platinum albums throughout their 63-year career.
Background
The O’Jays made their first chart appearance with the hit “Lonely Drifter” in 1963 but reached their peak success once they teamed up with Gamble & Huff, a group of producers and songwriters, who signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. Following this, the O’Jays gained notoriety and emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with “Back Stabbers” in 1972 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973, followed by “Love Train” in 1974. This success followed their debut album, “Comin’ Through”. More recently, The O’Jays were welcomed into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2013 they were inducted into National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.
Catalogue Details
The acquisition comprises 100% of The O’Jays’ master royalty income in the catalogue. The catalogue has significant exposure to streaming, comprising 64% of revenue mix, with the balance being comprised of 3% physical, 10% download, 17% sync and 6% other. In terms of geographical exposure, 88% of the revenue is from the US, while the balance is from other countries.
The top songs ranked by revenue are: “Love Train”, “Forever Mine”, “For The Love of Money”, “Back Stabbers”, “Use Ta Be My Girl”, “Cry Together”, “Stairway To Heaven” and “I Love Music”.
All figures above are based on the catalogue’s royalty statements in the calendar years 2018-2020.
Due to commercial sensitivities, the company is unable to disclose financial details for each acquisition as it occurs. However, on completion of the investment of proceeds from the $86.5m C Share fundraise, together with the remaining undrawn balance of its existing revolving credit facility, the company will make further financial disclosure on the acquisitions.
RHM : Round Hill Music buys O’Jays catalogue
picture from Wikipedia by Raymond Boyd