Copyright Variety
A new investment company plans to take a leaf from the recent spate of musicians selling the rights to their own back catalogs and shift it into the film and TV space. Easttree Media, an investment platform acquiring income rights in some of what it claims are the “world’s most iconic films and television shows,” has announced its official launch at the American Film Market. Among it founders are two former execs from Hipgnosis, the ambitious management company that made headlines for splashing hundreds of millions of dollars on buying the rights to song catalogs from some of the world’s best known musicians. Founded in the U.K., Easttree was backed by funds and accounts backed by U.S. investment management giant BlackRock in May of this year. The company provides actors, writers, directors, producers and other rights holders — including production companies, studios and financiers — with what it says is the “ability to monetize all or part of their participation interests.” Focusing exclusively on passive profit participations in film and TV properties, it “enables sellers to monetise 100% of their income rights or pursue partial buyouts that create ongoing alignment and long-term revenue partnerships.” Easttree — which claims it has already completed multiple transactions involving some of the world’s most prolific shows and artists — was founded in 2024 by Marc Allen, Chris Helm, and Markku Lonnqvist. Allen brings expertise from the film and TV entertainment space, having previously served as COO of the management and production company 42. Helm previously served as CFO Hipgnosis Songs Funds overseeing acquisitions of music catalogues. Lonnqvist most recently served as the Chief Investment Officer at Hipgnosis Song Management and was previously a partner at Pamplona Capital Management. “I’m proud to have created this business with our team and BlackRock,” said Allen. “Being able to provide such a service for such a broad range of talent, as well as sophisticated, high value solutions for the world’s largest film and TV entertainment industry players gives us a unique opportunity to work with creators, producers and platforms across the whole film and TV spectrum regardless of scale.” Added Helm: “Our vision is to approach film and TV participations through a fresh lens — bringing transparency, alignment and partnerships that serve talent. We’re firm believers that acquirors of music rights can scale, succeed commercially and still advocate for artists. We are bringing that same conviction to film and television, turning these income rights into a transformative new asset class.” Paul Braude, head of the direct private opportunities group at BlackRock, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Easttree Media on their journey. Iconic film and television titles continue to attract audiences well beyond their initial release, and we believe these assets provide our clients with even greater choice to meet their investment needs alongside access to distinctive and durable source of returns.” Hipgnosis — which launched in 2018 — went on a spree of acquisitions between 2021 and 2023, acquiring the catalogs of artists including Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Bieber, Shakira and many more. It helped drive the price of music catalogs to new heights, but grew overextended and eventually sold to Blackstone in 2024 for $1.6 billion.
