Looking for a recession-proof commodity? Try music. So suggests London-based alternative-investment manager Bramdean Asset Management, which aims to profit by securing the publishing rights to original scores used in feature films and television programs.
The music-for-film fund, dubbed Resonant Music I, was formed in November in conjunction with Cutting Edge Music Holdings, which owns the rights or has provided the scores to about 400 films, including Atonement and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Cutting Edge, with offices in London and Los Angeles, will help $1.4 billion Bramdean find deals “with broad international appeal” in film and television.
The fund has financed more than 20 new projects with such film companies as Dark Castle Entertainment, Legacy and Matador Films, in addition to several independents. Its goal is to invest in as many as 200 projects — primarily in the U.S. and the U.K. — over the next four years.
By building a catalogue with long-term rights, Bramdean hopes to create a sustained revenue stream from royalties along with the potential for capital appreciation, says Rachel Durkin, a manager for the fund. “Bramdean is looking for truly differentiated investment opportunities and believes that the fund will deliver attractive returns for investors that are uncorrelated with traditional as well as other alternative-asset classes.”
Because its income is typically separate from film earnings and is not easily controlled by distributors or producers, film score investment can be safer than investing in the production itself. This is particularly true in Europe, where music has a gross share of box office income, Durkin adds.
Resonant Music I is for established Bramdean clients, but a bigger fund is in the works for new investors.
