Music Industry Moves: Influence Media Partners to Acquire Anthem Entertainment’s Publishing and Film & TV Assets in $600 Million Deal

Influence Media Partners, in collaboration with funds and accounts managed by affiliates of BlackRock, has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Anthem Entertainment: its music publishing catalogs, film & TV publishing assets and its portfolio of master recordings, for a purchase price of $600 million-plus. The catalogs include more than 24,000 released songs and 60,000+ additional unexploited works, including shares in such such as Britney Spears’ “Oops!… I Did It Again”; Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack”; Timbaland’s “The Way I Are”; Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t”; Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”; OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars”; and others from songwriters Jordan Davis, Shane Profitt, and Chris Janson. The film & TV catalog contains soundtracks from iconic movies and television shows such as the “Spider-Man” franchise, the “Men in Black” franchise, and Lego Ninjago. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q4 2026. “This acquisition marks a major milestone for Influence Media and reflects the momentum we’ve built as a platform. Anthem’s catalog extends far beyond hit songs – it’s music that has become woven into iconic moments, films, and shows that audiences around the world know and love,” said Lylette Pizarro McLean, Influence Media Founder & Co-Managing Partner. “We’re proud to welcome these works into the Influence portfolio as we continue our next chapter of growth with the support of BlackRock, and look forward to collaborating with our industry-leading partners to create new opportunities and drive exposure for the works and the artists behind them.” Influence Media Partners’ portfolio includes DJ Khaled, Future, and Enrique Iglesias. Popular on Variety Paul Braude, CIO of Direct Private Opportunities Group at BlackRock, said: “Anthem’s catalog exemplifies the high-quality, scaled intellectual property assets we seek within Direct Private Opportunities at BlackRock. Influence Media has built a differentiated platform with deep industry expertise and strong talent relationships, and we are pleased to broaden our partnership through this transaction.” Jason Klein, CEO of Anthem Entertainment Inc., said: “Over two decades, Anthem has built a rich and diverse catalog of songs, recordings, and film and television music. It has been a privilege to serve as custodian of this extraordinary music over the past three years, and I am proud of the dedication and integrity my team has brought to realizing its value.” Truist led the debt financing raise to support the transaction and served as financial advisor to Influence. Influence was advised by Alter, Kendrick & Baron; McDermott Will & Schulte; and McCarthy Tétrault. BlackRock was advised by Clifford Chance and Stikeman Elliott. Goldman Sachs served as exclusive financial advisor to Anthem, and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt served as Anthem’s legal counsel. + Sony Music Publishing has promoted Ari Gelaw to Senior Vice President, Creative A&R. Gelaw will continue to be based out of the company’s Los Angeles office, reporting to SMP’s President, Head of U.S. A&R Katie Welle. In her new role, Gelaw will be responsible for leading the company’s US R&B/Hip-Hop team, spanning SMP’s New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles offices. Since joining SMP in 2022 as Vice President, Creative A&R, Gelaw has signed BigXThaPlug, Monaleo, Victoria Monet, Flo, Samara Cyn and J White, while also continuing to work closely with top hitmakers including Mustard, Ink, Yeat, Leon Thomas, Camper and more. Welle said, “Ari is an exceptional A&R and incredibly skilled at supporting talent. Her sharp creative instinct and dedication to songwriters have been key to our growth, and this promotion reflects her continued impact both creatively and as a leader. I couldn’t be more thrilled to work alongside Ari as we continue to elevate the success of our roster and our team.” + Secretly Distribution has promoted Kristian Downs to Executive Director, Platform Operations, reporting in to COO and Partner Chris Welz. Downs will continue to oversee SD’s Digital Operations team, while providing strategic ownership, governance, and long-term operational direction across SD’s core platform infrastructure. “Kristian has transformed our digital operations since joining Secretly Distribution six years ago. His strategic vision, technical expertise, and collaborative leadership have been instrumental in building the platforms that support our clients today. As we continue to invest in our technology and infrastructure, we’re thrilled for Kristian to be leading the next phase of our platform development.” + Veteran executive Mike Rittberg has left his role as President of Global Distribution at HYBE, where he led commercial partnerships, retail strategy, supply chain, international marketing, and physical production. His previous roles over the years include Warner Bros. Records, Verve Records, Bill Silva Management and Big Machine Label Group, where he served as COO. His roles span artist development, marketing, distribution, retail, promotion, and global partnerships. He can be reached at mikerittberg@gmail.com.