The Deals: Merlin Partners With Pipeline for Label Advances; Range Sports Buys Bonnaroo Founder Superfly

Range Sports acquired experiential company Superfly for an undisclosed amount. As part of the deal, Superfly founders Rick Farman, Rich Goldstone and Kerry Black and staff will join Range in the newly rebranded Superfly, A Range Company, with the focus on live events across sports, entertainment, music and more. Superfly is renowned in the live space, founding Bonnaroo in 2002 before selling a controlling interest to Live Nation in 2015 and the remaining stake in 2019.

The deal does not include Superfly’s ownership interest in the Outside Lands festival, which will continue as a partnership with Another Planet Entertainment. Farman, Goldstone and Black will also launch an experiential IP creation that focuses on developing and launching original live experiences and experiential platforms beyond sports. — Melinda Newman

Primary Wave Music made an investment in music financing platform RUN, which provides financing to artists, labels and rightsholders — from short-term advances to full catalog acquisitions. According to a press release, RUN has provided tens of millions of dollars in capital to hundreds of artists globally. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

“We have created the ultimate funding tool for music rights,” said RUN co-founder Diego Farias in a statement. “Built on a state-of-the-art AI platform, we are able to automatically break down complex statements and deals in the matter of minutes rather than weeks and then turn around financing offers that we are ready to shake hands on.” He continues, “The speed with which we operate while sticking to our core principles of fair terms and transparent agreements sets us apart from the traditional opportunities artists and labels have had access to.”

Added Agnes Kacicki, Primary Wave’s head of corporate development: “RUN gives us early exposure to a technology-enabled platform at the intersection of music, data, and rights management, and this investment aligns directly with our focus on innovation and long-term value creation.” — Chris Eggertsen

Bella Figura Music acquired “a significant portion” of the catalog of London-based indie label Jeepster Recordings. The deal covers select albums, EPs and other recordings, including releases from Belle And Sebastian (If You’re Feeling Sinister, The Boy with the Arab Strap), Snow Patrol (When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clean Up) and The Gentle Waves (Swansong for You).

“Jeepster helped bring truly distinctive records into the world. Music that has continued to resonate with listeners decades on,” said Alexi Cory-Smith, CEO and founder of Bella Figura Music, in a statement. “We’re proud to become the steward of this catalogue and to support its long-term legacy through thoughtful, active rights management.”

Bella Figura’s roster also includes the RAK Music Publishing repertoire along with songs like “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” Robbie Williams’ “Angels,” David Gray’s album White Ladder, Aloe Blacc’s “I Need A Dollar” and Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing.” — Chris Eggertsen

Miami’s Algorhythms Music Group, a multi-label platform that provides label services for dance music, has signed a deal with The Orchard built around a new model for label development in the genre. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional record labels, Algorhythms has created a system to position artists and event brands as curators, with The Orchard providing global distribution. The partnership will focus on artists who want to shape their own sound and on event brands that want to extend their identity beyond the stage.

Algorhythms Music Group was founded by Miami natives Diego Gomez de Cordova and Gamil Kharfan. Its current roster includes the labels for My Friend Misty Records, the imprint owned by III Points founder and Club Space partner David Sinopoli, along with Soundtuary Music, Techno and Chill Records and NUSONIDO from DJ duo Calussa. — Katie Bain

Record label and management group XOXO Entertainment secured a multi-million-dollar funding deal with Toban Capital Korea, in association with the Korean private equity fund Green Harbor Co. Under the agreement, Toban and Green Harbor will support the signing and development of multiple artists at XOXO’s label and management divisions. Last month, XOXO signed Grammy-winning R&B group Blackstreet.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with TOBAN CAPITAL KOREA & GREEN HARBOR as we move to sign multiple iconic artists to XOXO Entertainment,” said Adam H. Hurstfield, CEO of XOXO Entertainment, in a statement. “Our relationship spans a lifetime, and working together in an elevated capacity feels both natural and deeply meaningful. Toban Capital & Green Harbor share our core values and our global vision, and we are truly energized by what we will build together as our company continues its upward trajectory.”

“Partnering with XOXO Entertainment represents a significant and purposeful step for Toban Capital Korea,” added Stephen B. Toban, CEO of Toban Capital. “I have known Adam H. Hurstfield for a lifetime, and I have always respected his integrity, his vision, and his relentless commitment to excellence. We are proud to align with XOXO as we work together to sign and support iconic artists, and we look forward to the global impact this collaboration will create.” — Chris Eggertsen

Live Nation Entertainment made a majority investment in Bizarro Peru, a leading concert promoter in the country that produces and promotes concerts for both international and regional artists, with a focus on Spanish-language music.

Under the deal, Live Nation will operate in a unified manner with the Bizarro Peru leadership team, alongside the existing Live Nation team based in Lima led by Alberto Menacho, to bolster local operations, expand programming and bring more artists and live experiences to Peru.

“Lima, Peru is the 5th largest city in South America and an increasingly important destination for artists touring the continent,” said Live Nation CEO and president Michael Rapino in a statement. “Partnering with Bizarro Peru allows us to strengthen what already works, support their local expertise, and bring even more great shows and live experiences to fans in Lima and across the country.”

“Our partnership with Live Nation in Perú marks an exciting new chapter for Bizarro Peru,” added Alfredo Alonso, Bizarro Peru’s director of entertainment. “Together with Alberto and the team in Lima, we’ll combine Live Nation’s global expertise with our deep local knowledge to elevate the live music experience for fans and artists across the country.” — Chris Eggertsen

Secretly Distribution signed a global distribution deal with Ipecac Recordings, founded by musician Mike Patton and artist and label manager Greg Werckman. Secretly will handle physical and digital music distribution, digital and retail marketing, and tech support for all of Ipecac’s upcoming releases.

“One needs to evaluate constantly with the ever-shifting music industry landscape. Where do we fit? Who understands us? Who are our people? Partnering with Secretly at this time makes perfect sense,” said Werckman in a statement. “From the people that work at Secretly to the eclectic collection of labels and artists they work with, it feels like joining a commune of like-minded, fairly well groomed, independent music lovers. We are honored to be asked to join the ‘club’ and look forward to much more shared mayhem.”

Added Tom Davies, director of global marketing & campaigns at Secretly: “Take a look at the Ipecac roster and you’ll see a rundown of artists who have consistently pushed at boundaries, challenged preconceptions, thrown curveballs and made us all wince, gasp, laugh and, frankly, rock in various measures. It’s been a pleasure to listen to their output for 25 years, and everyone at Secretly Distribution is beyond excited to get to work with a label whose commitment to supporting groundbreaking music matches our own. We are thrilled to collaborate with Greg, Marc and Mike to support their amazing catalog and new releases.” — Chris Eggertsen

Bergamot Asset Management acquired a 50 percent stake in Augspurger, a manufacturer of large-format mixing monitors, Professional Audio Design and Malekpour Design Partners. The three companies will now operate under the newly established parent company Augspurger Holdco LLC, created in partnership with Bergamot and Dave Malekpour, founder and president of the new group. Christopher Long, CIO of Bergamot Asset Management, will serve as CEO of Augspurger Holdco, while Malekpou will serve as president and chief product officer.

“Our new relationship with Bergamot opens a new phase of the Augspurger brand, allowing us to continue delivering the highest-quality products to our customers while significantly increasing our capacity to meet the increased demand for our monitors around the world,” said Malekpour in a statement.

He added, “The new partnership will also enable Augspurger® to maintain inventory-ready production cycles, while opening up our distribution channels in every region. These operational improvements will help make our products more readily available to customers around the world.” — Chris Eggertsen