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Tom's avatar

Interesting article. The folly of these big catalogue acquisitions (from and investor standpoint) is indeed a head scratcher. These are by definition declining assets, with an occasional bump on a few songs from a licensing deal here or there. The big funds are blowing their investors $ on vanity purchases.

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Dave Kaufman's avatar

Thought-provoking article. Thanks Ted! It's hard to fathom why investors are paying such huge sums of money. But I think it's clear that it's a long-term investment that could pay off over decades. Probably, very few Americans had even heard of Nick Drake before Volkswagen used Pink Moon in immensely popular car commercials 25 years after his death. The Kinks were at a low ebb in popularity and almost no one beyond dedicated fans had heard the song Picture Book before it was used in a widely seen set of HP commercials. I don't know the answer, but the bet is that the investment will pay off in the long term (30-40 years), presumably before copyrights expire. I think someone else mentioned that the Beatles remain the world's most popular band (as measured in sales over a decade).

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