Influence Media Partners has agreed to acquire substantially all assets of Anthem Entertainment for over $600 million, in a deal backed by funds managed by affiliates of BlackRock. Music Business Worldwide reported the agreement on 29 July 2026.

The acquisition covers Anthem's music publishing catalogs, film and TV publishing assets, and a portfolio of master recordings — the original sound recordings from which copies and streams are licensed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q4 2026.

Anthem's catalog comprises over 24,000 released songs and more than 60,000 additional unexploited works, meaning compositions that have not yet been recorded, released or actively licensed. The collection spans a striking range: 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', and OneRepublic's 'Counting Stars'. Country songwriters Jordan Davis, Shane Profitt and Chris Janson are also represented. On the film and TV side, the catalog contains soundtracks from franchises including Spider-Man, Men in Black and LEGO Ninjago.

This is the third time in a decade that Anthem's assets have been put up for sale — and the first to yield a buyer. Previous auction attempts in 2017 and 2022 fell short. MBW reported in June 2026, citing Billboard, that Influence Media had emerged as the winning bidder with an offer of a little over $650 million. The confirmed purchase price of "over $600 million" aligns with that earlier report.

Anthem's controlling shareholder, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, is set to exit through the sale. Jason Klein is Anthem Entertainment's CEO. On the acquiring side, Lylette Pizarro McLean is the Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Influence Media, and Paul Braude is the Chief Investment Officer of the Direct Private Opportunities Group at BlackRock.

For music fans, the practical question is what happens to the songs themselves. Catalog acquisitions of this scale typically involve the new owner taking control of the rights to license, synchronise and monetise those compositions and recordings — meaning decisions about where these songs appear, in films, advertisements and on streaming playlists, will now sit with Influence Media and its investors.