Most global fixed-income investors, 86%, plan to increase their music royalty and intellectual property holdings this year, according to a recent report by Fourth Pillar, a communications firm specializing in music and entertainment.
Also, 66% say the number of available deals increased on a year-over-year basis, the survey of 125 global music investors found. The average investor completed more than one music royalty investment deal per month in the 12 months prior to Q4 2025, when Fourth Pillar conducted the study.
The study, "Music Investment Barometer 2026" found that the globalization of music via streaming, enhanced data and reporting, and a wave of landmark deals, fund launches, and public listings have attracted burgeoning institutional capital pools into the music industry, particularly in the last five years.
The market has seen a slew of ABS-backed transactions, with rating agencies assigning 'A+' ratings to institutional-grade deals.
"Over the last seven years, and particularly over the last three to five years, we've seen a massive shift in attitudes toward music rights as an investment opportunity," said Claire Turvey, managing partner at Fourth Pillar.
The report also found confidence throughout the music industry, with 92% of participants optimistic about the industry's medium- to long-term financial outlook.
She attributes the growth to greater investor comfort with what music rights are, what they consist of, and their value in terms of both capital and income.
Increased education, data transparency, and rising market activity drove the influx of private equity, private capital, and debt over the last three to five years. Most recently, she added, the market has seen a slew of ABS-backed transactions, with rating agencies assigning 'A+' ratings to institutional-grade deals.
Turvey said that the music rights securitizations by Blackstone, Concord, an independent music company based in Nashville, Tenn., and HarbourView Equity Partners, based in Newark, NJ, show a correlation between the number and value of ABS-backed transactions and growing investor confidence in the asset class.
New Frontiers
Peter Anderson, assistant vice president at Moody's Ratings, noted that more new artists are climbing the charts on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.
"One new trend is that we are getting inquiries from portfolios with higher concentrations of newer intellectual property (IP). That is something that remains to be seen about how that's received in the market," he said.
Newer IP is considered riskier than older works because it has less performance history, especially during downturns. The asset class is generally non-cyclical, however, and many portfolios Moody's has seen with newer artists feature very strong talent, he added.
There's also growing activity in catalogs and portfolios aimed at specific demographics, with newer IP and content tailored to particular audiences, These often require active management and sometimes include video content. As investors grow more comfortable with the asset class, more issuers are exploring these newer types of content.
"It's both the age of the audience IP and the type of music being securitized," said Oktay Veliev, associate managing director of the structured finance group at Moody's Ratings. Traditionally, established artists have been part of the securitization universe. But recently, there have been more discussions about new artists and music tied to films, such as scores, expanding beyond just traditional acts.
Veliev added that while artists typically stream their music on platforms like Spotify, sometimes their work is featured in films, shows, or as unique scores. These types of music are increasingly part of securitization discussions.
Positive Reviews
Rating agencies like what they see in music royalty ABS. Interest is picking up from both issuers and investors, and steady cash flow has earned their nod of approval. More deals and new kinds of collateral are likely on the way, analysts predict.
We are seeing market discussions about portfolios with higher concentrations of newer IP, according to Anderson from Moody's.
Anderson explained that many of the deals done in the market to date have been with the most time-tested assets, as measured by the amount of performance history available and the age of the IP i.e., when the IP was first put out.
Jie Liang, sector lead for esoteric ABS at S&P Global Structured Finance Ratings, said the rating agency has been involved in the music royalty sector for about two years.
"It was also one of the most popular topics in the SF Vegas conference a couple of weeks ago," Liang said. "It is growing partially because of investors' comfort in this asset."
