Our Investment Objective and Policy

The Company’s Investment Objective is to provide Shareholders with an attractive and growing level of income, together with the potential for capital growth, from investment in Songs and associated musical intellectual property rights, in accordance with its investment policy.

Investment Policy

The Company’s Investment Policy is to diversify risk through investment in a Portfolio of Songs and associated musical intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to, master recordings, rights over future Songs that are acquired by the Group through the payment of Advances to such Songwriter and secured against the future Songs, and producer royalties). The Company seeks to acquire 100% of a Songwriter’s copyright interest in each Song, which would comprise their writer’s share, their publisher’s share and their performance rights. In appropriate cases, however, the Company may not acquire all 3 elements of the Songwriter’s interest. The Company acquires interests in Songs which are sole authored or co-authored. The Company may also acquire interests in Songs jointly with another purchaser. Each Song is considered by the Company to be a separate asset.

The Company, directly or indirectly via portfolio administrators, enters into licensing agreements, under which the Company receives payments attributable to the copyright interests in the Songs which it owns. Such payments may take the form of royalties, licence fees and/or advance payments, including:

  • mechanical royalties – when a copy of a Song is made, whether physical (e.g. CDs, DVDs, vinyl) or digital (e.g. permanent downloads, streaming, webcast);
  • performance royalties – when a Song is performed live or broadcast on TV or Radio, or when a song is streamed online; and
  • synchronisation fees – when a Song is used in another form of media or moving picture (e.g. movie, TV show, video game, advertisement).

The Company also receives royalties and fees payable in respect of master recordings. Master recordings are the copyright in the master recording of a musical composition or Song. Master recordings earn synchronisation royalties and generate income from sales of both physical records and digital downloads as well as from DSPs.

The Company focuses on delivering income growth and capital growth by pursuing efficiencies in the collection of payments and active management of the Songs it owns.

The Company may acquire Songs for consideration consisting of cash, Shares or a combination of cash and Shares, and payment of part of the consideration may be on deferred terms. The Company may acquire Songs or Catalogues directly, or indirectly by acquiring the entity through which such Songs or Catalogues are held.

Whilst the Company does not intend to sell the Songs it owns, it may make disposals of Songs where it considers such a disposal to be in the best interests of Shareholders.

Investment restrictions
The Company invests its assets and manages the Songs it acquires with the objective of constructing a high quality and diversified Portfolio of Songs. The Company acquires Catalogues from a number of different Songwriters, which includes Songs diversified across music genres and sung by numerous recording artists. The Company is subject to the following investment restrictions:

  • the Company holds interests in a minimum of 300 Songs;
  • the Advances made to Songwriters in connection with the acquisition of rights over future Songs will not represent more than 5% of the Company’s Gross Assets, calculated at the date of the relevant Advance;
  • the value of any single Song does not, and will not, represent more than 10% of the Company’s Gross Assets, calculated at the date of the acquisition of such Song (and re-calculated in the aggregate upon the acquisition of any additional interest in a Song). In the event this limit is breached at any point after the relevant investment has been made or added to (for example due to a change in valuation of any Song), there is no requirement to sell any Song, in whole or in part; and
  • the Company does not, and will not, invest in closed-ended investment companies or other investment funds.

Cash management
The Company’s uninvested capital may be invested in cash, cash equivalents, near cash instruments and money market instruments.

Hedging and derivatives
The Company may utilise derivatives for efficient portfolio management. In particular, the Directors may engage in full or partial foreign currency hedging and interest rate hedging. The Company does not, and will not, enter into such arrangements for investment purposes.

Leverage
The Company may incur indebtedness of up to a maximum of 30% of its Operative Net Asset Value, calculated at the time of drawdown. For these purposes all bank borrowings and other forms of indebtedness incurred by any member of the Group (as defined below), and any non-equity share capital, will be taken into account. “Group” means the Company and its subsidiaries (as defined in section 531 of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008, as amended).

Amendments to and compliance with the Investment Objective and Policy
Any material change to the Company’s Investment Objective and Policy will be made only with the prior approval of the FCA and the Shareholders by ordinary resolution.

In the event of a material breach of any of the investment restrictions applicable to the Company, Shareholders will be informed of the actions to be taken by the Company through an announcement made via an RNS announcement.

For further information see our latest annual report in Results Centre.