Music Industry Moves: Wasserman Ups Shelley Pisarra to Chief Insights and Innovation Officer; Anthem Buys Marty Robbins’ Catalog

Wasserman has promoted Shelley Pisarra to chief insights and innovation officer, where she will report to Darrell Coetzee, chief operating officer. Pisarra, who previously served as executive VP, global insights, will develop strategies and platforms that will accelerate growth across the sports, music and entertainment landscape.

Specific initiatives Pisarra will work on include the continued expansion of Wasserman’s product and innovation work, focusing on developing proprietary commercial capabilities that unlock revenue opportunities for top talent, brands and rights holders.

Pisarra adds, “I’m thrilled to step into this role, as Wasserman continues to demonstrate our commitment to putting insights to work to best serve our clients, while anticipating what’s next for the fan at the intersection of sports, music, and entertainment,"

+ Anthem Music Publishing has purchased the song catalog of late country singer and Marty Robbins. Robbins, who died in 1982, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Among the standout titles making up the deal is “Big Iron,” Robbins’ 1960 classic that reached No. 5 on the U.S. Country chart and peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Big Iron” was also featured in the 2010 video game “Fallout: New Vegas.” Also included is “El Paso,” released by Columbia Records in 1959. The song earned Robbins the 1961 Grammy award for best country and western recording.

“The track earned Robbins his second Grammy award for best country and western recording in 1970.
“Marty Robbins was a towering figure in American music – an artist whose storytelling transcended genre and era. His songs are woven into the fabric of country and western music heritage, and continue to influence artists and resonate with fans to this day,” said Jason Klein, CEO of Anthem Music Group.

“We’re honored to see Marty’s music find a new home with Anthem Music Publishing. His songs have stood the test of time, captivating generations with their vivid storytelling and emotional depth. We’re confident that Anthem will not only preserve Marty’s legacy, but elevate it – introducing his work to new audiences while honoring the timeless spirit of the originals,” stated the Marty Robbins Estate. “Marty’s music has always belonged to the people, and we believe Anthem shares that same dedication to keeping it alive for generations to come.”

+ Latin music executive Horacio Rodriguez has launched Fundamentals, a Miami-based company specializing in artist and label services.

With over two decades of experience collaborating with artists and teams, Rodriguez has been a key figure in the development of talent while holding executive roles at Universal Music Latin Entertainment (UMLE) and most recently served as CEO and head of Music for WK Records and WK Entertainment.

During his time at WK, Rodriguez was responsible for signing Ryan Castro to the company through a groundbreaking artist and label services partnership, helping propel the Colombian artist to international stardom and positioning him as one of the best-selling artists in his home country.

“The launch of Fundamentals marks a new chapter in my commitment to supporting and elevating Latinx artists by reimagining their path to success — based on innovation, cultural impact, creative freedom, and the long-term sustainability of their projects in an ever-changing industry,” said Rodríguez.

Wednesday, June 9

Sony Music Publishing will take ownership of Hipgnosis Songs Group, Variety has confirmed. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal includes songs from Sabrina Carpenter, Blake Mills, My Morning Jacket, Alex Warren, St. Vincent, Kali Uchis and more, with Sony Music Publishing taking over Hipgnosis Songs’ publishing and third-party administration businesses. This news was first reported by Billboard.

The acquisition comes on the heels of Hipgnosis rebranding to Recognition Music Group in March, which folded the Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Songs Assets into the new group.

In 2024, Hipgnosis struck two enormous deals: the sale of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund to financial behemoth Blackstone for $1.6 billion, after which founder Merck Mercuriadis exited and Blackstone took the then-publicly traded company private. The second was Hipgnosis’ issuance of $1.47 billion in bonds backed by royalties of music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, 50 Cent and more.

Last year “marked a pivotal transition for the company with the Hipgnosis entities coming under common ownership and the completion of a landmark $1.47 billion financing – demonstrating strong investor conviction in the asset class,” Qasim Abbas, head of tactical opportunities international for Blackstone, said at the time.

As Variety reported last year, Hipgnosis helped drive up the price of music catalogs through its purchases, paying top dollar to a large number of top producers and songwriters for their work. The market then followed suit, driving up the value of catalogs enormously — Hipgnosis paid a reported $100 million for half of Neil Young’s songs catalog. In separate deals Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen reportedly were paid as much as four to six times that — but Hipgnosis grew overextended as investors questioned the company’s ability to exploit the catalogs it had acquired.

Sony Music Publishing is the largest such company in the world, with 6.63 million songs in its catalog as of March 31, according to the most recent available data.

+ HarbourView, the content-focused investment firm founded in 2021, has announced $500 million in debt financing via the financial conglomerate KKR. Last year, the two companies struck a similar deal, also for $500 million.

“This additional capital from KKR will help us accelerate our strategy to align with where the media, sports and entertainment markets are headed,” HarbourView Founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke said in a statement.

Last year, it was announced HarbourView would be financing a Queen Latifah biopic. Earlier this year, it purchased the rights to T-Pain’s catalog, along with certain assets from Grammy-winning producer Rodney Jerkins. The company’s catalog includes music from Brad Paisley, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo and Cardi B and hits like Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” the latter as part of a $50 million deal.

“In the industrialized revolution, we’re going from horse and buggy into motorized cars,” Clarke told Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast last year.

+ Cooking Vinyl, home to Billy Bragg, Roger Waters, the Jesus and Mary Chain and many more iconic artists from the UK and beyond, is being acquired by the U.S.-based Exceleration Music, the companies have announced.

Exceleration has struck deals with numerous companies including its acquisition of Redeye in 2023, the acquisition of Kill Rock Stars and a “financial alliance” with Mom+Pop Music in 2022 and acquiring Bloodshot Records in 2021, among others. One of the company’s earliest deals was with Chicago-based blues stalwart Alligator Records in 2021.

Exceleration was founded in 2021 by former Concord Music Group CEO Glenn Barros along with Amy Dietz, John Burk, Charles Caldas and Dave Hansen with “substantial investment capital,” according to Music Business Worldwide.

“It’s great to see the music industry being embraced by the investment world. Not so long ago, most investors thought this industry was finished,” Barros said at the time. “But this influx of capital has in many ways turned music into a commodity to be traded like any other financial asset.”