Nettwerk Music Group Recapitalizes

By David Farrell

Nettwerk Music Group has recapitalized its business and bought out a stake previously held by private equity firm HBC Investments.

Using a debt instrument to purchase HBC Investments’ ownership is part of a broader financing plan that recognizes the success of the company's strategy over the past seven years, according to the Vancouver entertainment firm's co-founder and CEO Terry McBride. The amount of new capital in the firm was not disclosed.

The Vancouver-based, global entertainment company, created in 1984, has proven itself a successful outlier in the music entertainment field and successfully promoted an impressive list of alternative and niche acts with global appeal since its early days. The firm operates management and publishing divisions, as well as operating its Nettwerk Records imprint.  

In 2013, identifying a coming sea-change in the industry, HBC Investments, Nettwerk founders, and existing investor Beedie Capital invested $10.22M in the company to make acquisitions and invest in artists that would benefit from the shifts in music distribution and consumption. Since then, Nettwerk has been successful as a company and, more importantly, for its artists in a streaming-dominated world. 

"Our management team appreciates the growth capital HBC Investments invested to support our strategy and the guidance they provided to achieve our goals through acquisition and organic growth," co-founder and CEO Terry McBride said in a media statement.

The Company, while recognizing its success over the past seven years, sees the opportunity to continue to leverage its experience in streaming and digital to drive rapid growth both for its existing roster and also for new artists currently navigating the complex world of digital content production, distribution, and promotion. 

In July 2016, Nettwerk sold its publishing catalogue to Kobalt Investment Fund, an independent investment fund established in 2011. It subsequently created a new song catalogue division that has six exclusive writers and a very long list of song catalogues.