Raleigh Music Publishing and ICM Crescendo Form Joint Venture to Acquire Music Catalogs
Raleigh Music Publishing and ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund have formed a joint venture to buy music publishing catalogs, with ICM Crescendo committing dedicated acquisition capital and Raleigh sourcing, administering and taking an equity stake in the deals.
The two companies are not starting from scratch. Their first collaboration was the acquisition of a majority interest in the Kal Mann catalog, announced in March 2025, which included Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again" and a sample share in House of Pain's "Jump Around" (Billboard; Raleigh Music Group). That deal served as the template: Raleigh brings the relationships and the day-to-day administration, ICM Crescendo brings the money.
The companies said they expect to announce multiple transactions in the near term, drawing on a pipeline developed by Raleigh through its contacts with catalog owners, artist estates and music rights holders (Billboard).
Raleigh's existing portfolio gives a sense of the territory. The company administers the published works of Elvis Presley, including "Can't Help Falling in Love," "All Shook Up" and "A Little Less Conversation." Its holdings also include the George Gershwin catalog, the Alan J. Lerner catalog encompassing standards from "My Fair Lady" and "Brigadoon," the Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and Tony Bennett's "Blue Velvet" (Billboard).
Raleigh is led by co-presidents Peter Raleigh, who previously headed copyright teams at Cherry Lane and Imagem Music Publishing U.S., and Steven Storch, who spent 21 years at Sony Music Publishing, serving as CFO before moving to Imagem (Billboard).
On the other side of the table, ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund owns 6,500 songs across more than 50 catalogs representing over 500 artists. The fund is managed by ICM Asset Management, a Canadian alternative investment manager with more than $2 billion in assets, led by president and portfolio manager David Vankka. Its holdings include songs performed by Taylor Swift, a catalog of songs by Anuel AA, and copyright and royalty interests in Lauren Daigle's platinum-certified album "Look Up Child." Past acquisitions include publishing and performance rights from guitarist Adrian Belew and the Rebel Made catalog, which features A$AP Rocky's "L$D," Kelly Rowland's "Motivation" and Usher's "There Goes My Baby" (Billboard).
Music publishing catalogs, the bundles of rights tied to the underlying compositions rather than the recordings, have been among the most actively traded assets in the music business in recent years. Investment funds, pension managers and private equity have poured capital into the space, drawn by the steady income that royalties generate across streaming, film, television and advertising.
What sets this venture apart is the division of labour. Raleigh is not simply selling catalogs it owns. It is using its industry contacts to find deals, then administering the copyrights, the day-to-day business of collecting and distributing royalties, while ICM Crescendo puts up the capital. Raleigh's equity stake means it shares in the upside of the catalogs it brings to the table rather than collecting a flat fee.
No financial terms for the joint venture have been disclosed. The companies have not specified which catalogs they are pursuing, only that multiple announcements are expected.
