Grammy-Winner Drake’s “Fire & Desire”

Description

Invest in publishing royalties from a catalog highlighted by Drake’s Platinum hit “Fire & Desire.” This collection consists of dozens of additional hip-hop tracks dating back through the 1990s.

Released in 2016, “Fire & Desire” peaked at No. 30 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and to date, claims over 120 million Spotify spins. The hit features a sample of Brandy’s 1994 release “I Dedicate,” which is also featured in this collection. “Fire & Desire” was released on Drake's 4x Platinum album Views. The album itself was nominated for Album of the Year as well as Best Rap Album at the 2017 Grammys.

“Fire & Desire” brought in over half of this catalog’s earnings last year. As the winner of this auction, you will collect sync, mechanical and public performance royalties generated by the hit. The largest income source for this catalog historically is mechanical royalties – making up 69% of earnings for this catalog to date. Recently, a shift to public performance royalties can be seen – making up 49% of earnings in the last 12 months, up 52% over the prior period.

The 2018 release "Rocket" from Grammy-nominated group En Vogue drove a large increase in earnings in Q1 2019, contributing to nearly a third of recent revenue. "Rocket" peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Adult R&B Songs chart, becoming the groups first top ten hit in twenty years. Also included is the Platinum-selling “My Love Is The Shhh" from R&B group Somethin' for the People as well as Ne-Yo's "HOTBOX" and K.Michelle's "Judge Me."

KEY DRIVERS

Income Mix. The winner of this auction can receive income from three different royalty streams:

• Mechanical: Royalties paid to songwriters and artists when music is sold (think CD or vinyl) but also when music is streamed (streaming mechanicals) “on-demand” (like Spotify).

• Performance: Royalties paid to songwriters when music is performed publicly. Music played over the radio, in a restaurant or bar, or over a service like Spotify or Pandora is considered a public performance.

• Synchronization: Royalties paid to songwriters and publishers for the licensing of a song in music for a movie, TV show, or commercial.

Historically, this catalog drew the majority of its income from mechanical royalties at 69%. In recent years, a shift can be seen as public performance royalties continue to increase (52% in the last 12 months alone) Currently, the majority of income in the last year has come from public performance at 49%, with mechanical royalties right behind at 40%.

Increased Mechanical Rates. The US Copyright Royalty Board recently raised the rates digital music services must pay for mechanical royalties by nearly 44% over the next 5 years. Historically, this catalog has earned 69% of its revenue from mechanical royalties. As the winner of this auction, you will benefit from the mechanical rate increases for the next five years.

Drake’s Massive Popularity. In June 2018, the RIAA announced that Drake is the top-certified singles artist ever with 142 million certified units. Drake also holds a number of historic Billboard chart records including Most Simultaneously Charted Hot 100 Titles, Most Top 10 Hot 100 Debuts in a Week, Most Hot 100 Top 10s Among Solo Males and many more. Click here to view the full list.

Drake just recently released a new album and while he is not currently on tour, he did just wrap up a hugely successful world tour which consisted of a week residency at Europe’s top-grossing concert venue, London’s famed O2 Arena. While new songs are not included in this auction, the release of new music and active tours reengages existing fans and draws discovery among new fans.