(Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery and Cutting Edge Group, an investor and manager of media music rights, have created a joint venture to co-own the entertainment studio’s catalog of film and TV music, the companies said on Friday.
Warner Bros will keep creative and operational control of the music rights, while Cutting Edge, in addition to its investment in the business, will jointly manage the partnership.
German asset manager DWS Group is also co-investing and sponsoring the deal.
“The creation of the JV is, by value, one of the largest music rights deals ever transacted and spans almost 100 years of copyrights,” according to a statement by the companies.
The companies will jointly aim to maximize the distribution and revenue potential of the music portfolio, the statement added.
The music portfolio, which contains more than 400,000 compositions and song cues, includes music from the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises, DC Comics movies, as well as TV shows such as Friends and Game of Thrones, among others.
Cutting Edge Group, founded in 2006, has assembled a specialist portfolio of more than 2,000 titles across soundtrack albums. It completed a $500 million debt refinancing last year.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
