Blackstone has sold a portion of its Recognition Music Group catalog to Sony Music Group for more than $200 million.
That’s according to Billboard, which cited sources as saying that the deal consists primarily of publishing rights and some master recording royalty streams.
The package reportedly includes works from songwriters Jeff Bhasker, whose credits include co-writing Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk and songs recorded by Taylor Swift, as well as compositions from Jack Antonoff.
Billboard’s article notes that Blackstone owns roughly $4 billion in music assets, including through Recognition Music Group, which was rebranded in March 2025 after Blackstone consolidated its Hipgnosis Songs Fund holdings. Blackstone acquired Hipgnosis Songs Fund from UK public investors for $1.58 billion in July 2024, giving the portfolio an enterprise value of approximately $2.2 billion at the time.
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis left the company in July 2024, upon Blackstone completing its acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Industry sources told MBW last March that Mercuriadis retained rights to the Hipgnosis name and may use it for a new venture.
In July 2025, the Financial Times reported that Mercuriadis would be launching a new investment firm targeting artist management companies and music catalogs through a partnership structure that gives acts and their representatives ownership stakes.
The FT reported that Mercuriadis’ new venture had already secured commitments in the “hundreds of millions” of dollars, citing people familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Blackstone had separately purchased about $800 million in music assets since 2021 through Hipgnosis Songs Capital, according to Billboard. Both portfolios were combined and renamed Recognition Music Group under CEO Ben Katovsky.
Recognition’s catalog spans 45,000 songs from over 145 catalogs, including works by artists such as Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Rihanna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beyoncé, Leonard Cohen, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, and many more. The portfolio has backed two asset-backed securitizations: a $1.47 billion transaction that closed in November 2024, and a $372 million bond sale in July 2025.
According to a Kroll report, based on a third-party valuation as of March 31, 2025, the catalog backing Recognition’s ABS transaction was worth USD $2.95 billion, inclusive of $340.8 million in additional assets that Recognition added to it.
Billboard reported that Blackstone’s London-based managers and the Recognition team are working to streamline the portfolio.
In June, Blackstone sold Hipgnosis Songs Group, previously known as Big Deal Music, to Sony Music Publishing. Sources told Billboard that transaction carried a price tag of about $70 million, although terms were not made public.
Blackstone first entered the music industry with its $1 billion purchase of SESAC in January 2017, followed by the acquisition of Entertainment One Music (eOne Music) for $385 million in cash in 2021, later renamed MNRK Music Group. Those acquisitions were made through a different arm of Blackstone — its New York-based private equity division — rather than the London tactical opportunities team behind Recognition.
While Recognition has sold some assets to Sony, sources told Billboard that Blackstone is not pursuing an exit from music investments. However, the firm would consider selling certain assets for the right price, the report said.
Billboard also noted, citing sources, that Recognition has been exploring partnerships to handle its master recording portfolio and publishing administration once current third-party agreements expire. Sony is among the companies being considered for that role, sources told the news outlet.
For Sony Music, the reported catalog acquisition marks its latest after its Sony Music Publishing Nashville unit teamed up with Domain Capital Group to acquire the catalog of artist and songwriter Miranda Lambert last week.
The deal encompasses her complete back catalog of songs.
Recent acquisitions across the wider Sony Music group include the January acquisition of Munich-based label F.A.M.E. Recordings, which builds on a 15-year relationship between the two companies; the purchase of a 49% stake in the music unit of Vietnam media giant YeaH1 in December; and its acquisition of independent publishing and artist development company Big Yellow Dog Music (BYD) in January.
To support its M&A strategy, Sony Music Group last week formed a music rights-buying joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC Pte. Bloomberg reports that GIC and Sony plan to invest $2 billion to $3 billion in the venture.
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