Universal Music Group (UMG) and WTSL, an investment firm run by ex-Endeavor executive chairman Patrick Whitesell with backing from Silver Lake, have formed a joint venture to “unlock opportunities” for UMG’s biggest artists across film, TV, fashion, consumer products, branded experiences and more, the companies announced on Thursday (June 12).
This certainly isn’t new ground for UMG, whose chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge called superfandom “the core component of music economics” at the company’s capital markets day last September. Indeed, the music giant has been a force behind projects like ABBA‘s smash hit avatar show; become a major investor in blockbuster artist-led brands including Dr. Dre‘s Apple-acquired company Beats; and even opened a UMusic hotel in Madrid back in 2023. But the joint venture announced on Thursday aims to create fan experiences and artist opportunities on a grander scale than any of those projects, the companies say.
The partnership reflects a shift in how the biggest stars and entertainment companies are approaching monetizing music rights. Home to superstars like Taylor Swift, UMG is looking to bring atypical entrepreneurial opportunities to its biggest artists. In Whitesell, they found an entertainment mogul who is known, as the Financial Times once wrote, for having helped rewrite “the Hollywood script.”
“This is about building the future of artist [intellectual property] with the scale and ambition it deserves,” Whitesell, who co-founded the global talent company WME, said in a statement about the deal.
The joint venture, which serves as WTSL’s debut, did not disclose any projects it currently has in the works. What’s clear is that it aims to leverage UMG’s talent and WTSL’s networks to create commerical opportunities in film, TV, fashion, consumer products, branding and other ventures that rely on music rights to “build long-term enterprises, expanding from one-off licensing into owned, repeatable, and equity-driven ventures,” according to a statement.
“We exist at the center of a vibrant ecosystem of partners from the worlds of technology, brands, retailers and media who recognize the power of our artists to shape culture globally,” Grainge said in a statement. “With this new venture we will be able to leverage Patrick’s deep experience in successfully creating non-traditional business models with world-class IP to accelerate the expansion and monetization of our ecosystem to the benefit of our artists and partners.”
