Shamrock Capital, the firm that bought Taylor Swift’s masters, raises over $600m to expand content strategy – Music Business Worldwide

Los Angeles-based investment company Shamrock Capital has raised more than $600 million in commitments for its third equity fund for content strategy, exceeding its hard cap against a target of $500 million.

The firm is best known for buying the master rights to Taylor Swift’s first six studio albums from Big Machine in November 2020 for north of $300 million.

Shamrock says that its Content Fund III LP is focused on snapping up a diverse and global portfolio of content and media rights. The company says it will use the funds “to capitalize on the trends, changes, and opportunities across the global media and entertainment landscape.”

The company has approximately $4.4 billion of assets under management.

“We are truly grateful to our existing and new investors for their commitment to this fund and our strategy overall,” said Shamrock Partner Patrick Russo.

“The closing of SCCF III continues to build on our multi-product platform and long-term strategy of owning and financing premium content and media rights.”

Patrick Russo, Shamrock Capital

“The closing of SCCF III continues to build on our multi-product platform and long-term strategy of owning and financing premium content and media rights. Our track record of successfully investing in these sectors stands out and uniquely positions Shamrock to capitalize on the trends, changes, and opportunities across the global media and entertainment landscape.”

As with its two predecessor funds, the third fund will partner with content creators and owners in targeting the acquisition of premium, cash-flowing portfolios across film, television, music, video games, sports rights and other forms of content.

Shamrock launched its first Content Fund in 2020 to originate loan structures to content and media rights owners. The 

To date, Shamrock’s commitments under its first, second, and third Content Strategy funds have reached $2 billion in assets under management. 

“At Shamrock, we see a compelling opportunity to continue to collaborate with the creative community.  We’ve found that artists and content owners not only value our firm’s unique entertainment heritage, but they also appreciate our broader resources across media and entertainment as we identify synergistic opportunities which can further their long-term objectives,” said Shamrock Partner Jason Sklar.

Shamrock says the fundraising was supported by strong demand from existing investors and significant interest from new investors. The investors include a diverse mix of state, county and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, family offices, and other financial institutions.

The latest fundraising follows Shamrock’s sale of a “passive minority equity interest” in the company to RidgeLake Partners, a strategic partnership between Ottawa Avenue Private Capital and Apogem Capital, and Bonaccord Capital Partners.

Shamrock was founded in 1978 as the family investment company for the late Roy E. Disney and has since transitioned into an institutionally backed private equity firm.

In June 2021, the company closed a $1 billion growth fund called Shamrock Capital Growth Fund V, and a month later it raised another $400 million in a new fund that will invest in entertainment IP, including music copyrights. It also raised $196 million to offer loan structures to IP owners.

Most recently in January, Billboard reported that Shamrock is among the buyers of Dr. Dre’s music assets.

Music Business Worldwide