Metallica Joins Venture Buying Song Catalogs and Other Intellectual Property


According to a published report by Variety, Metallica and longtime co-manager Cliff Burnstein are among the parties involved in a new intellectual-property acquisition venture Worldwired Music IP Fund. The venture, which also includes former Fender president/COO Matt Janopaul and former Sony/ATV co-president Rick Krim, will be looking to snap up a series of song catalogs as part of its portfolio.

Worldwired Music IP Fund is being headed up by former longtime Morgan Stanley investment banker Paul Donahue, and will have resources in the $300-$500 million range. Donahue also serves on the advisory board of Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation.

Metallica is not spearheading the fund, though the fund’s name is an apparent nod to the band’s “WorldWired” tour

A source stressed to Variety that the venture was not directly inspired by the start-up Hipgnosis Songs, which has spent over $1 billion buying up hit songwriter and producer catalogs in just two years.

Since 2012, Metallica has had complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band also launched its own label, Blackened Recordings.