Warner Bros. Discovery and Cutting Edge Group have formed a significant joint venture focused on WBD's extensive film and TV music catalog, representing one of the largest music rights deals in industry history.

The partnership gives Cutting Edge co-ownership of WBD's catalog, which includes over 400,000 compositions and song cues from iconic properties like Game of Thrones, various comic-book films, and The Shawshank Redemption. While WBD maintains creative and operational control over the music rights, Cutting Edge will participate in joint management of the works.

Key aspects of the deal:

• Universal Music Publishing Group and Sony Music Publishing will continue their existing administration roles for portions of the catalog
• Germany's DWS Group is co-investing in the transaction
• The partnership aims to maximize distribution and revenue potential of the music rights
• Cutting Edge brings expertise from their existing stakes in over 1,000 films and 45,000 tracks

Cutting Edge founder and CEO Philip Moross emphasized the historic nature of the deal, stating "This truly is an iconic assembly of catalogs created over almost a century by one of Hollywood's original studios." He noted that this partnership represents the culmination of years of work and validates their specialized expertise in music rights management.

This deal emerges after WBD's previous attempts to sell its music library outright, marking a strategic shift toward a partnership model rather than a complete divestment of these valuable music assets.

Related Articles

Previous Articles