The Linus Entertainment catalog includes multiple works from legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot (pictured), who passed away in May. Photo Credit: Carl Dunn/Round Hill
Two weeks removed from a catalog deal with Big Loud Shirt founder Craig Wiseman, Round Hill Music has announced the acquisition of Geoff Kulawick-founded Linus Entertainment.
In total, the newer of the purchases includes around 3,000 compositions and approximately 20,000 masters, according to Round Hill, which executed the buyout specifically via its Music Royalty Fund III LP. The involved parties haven’t publicly revealed the transaction’s precise financials or the post-sale operational details of 23-year-old Linus Entertainment.
Behind the sizable collection of IP, though, Linus possesses the recorded and publishing catalogs of Borealis Records, Solid Gold Records, Stony Plain Records (which it acquired in 2018), Spring Hill Music (bought in 2015), The Children’s Group (purchased in 2009), and True North Records (with which it “amalgamated” in 2019), to name some.
Meanwhile, the “overwhelming majority” of Waterdown, Ontario-headquartered Linus’ roughly 2,000-album catalog was recorded by Canadian acts, among them Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian Music Hall of Fame-inducted Bruce Cockburn, Gordon Lightfoot, and Stan Rogers, per Round Hill’s announcement message.
Additionally, the label’s current artist roster features the likes of Marc Jordan, fiddler Natalie MacMaster, Big Wreck, Canadian Brass, and Sophie Milman, according to Linus’ website. Addressing the purchase in a statement, Josh Gruss, CEO of the overarching Round Hill, made clear that the label acquisition “was truly a one off.”
“This investment includes some of the most celebrated music and performers to come out of Canada and supports our strategy of investing in and supporting the growth of iconic music,” communicated Gruss. “The opportunity Linus Entertainment presented to us was truly a one off and we are very excited to have these incredible Canadian artists included in the Round Hill stable.”
In comments of his own, the former Warner Chappell and Virgin Music higher-up Geoff Kulawick expressed the belief that “now is the right time for us to hand the reins over to a partner.” As initially mentioned, the deal is just the latest in a series of 2023 investments from Round Hill, which hasn’t been alone in continuing to pursue presumably expensive plays.
To be sure, August’s first three or so weeks alone have delivered catalog agreements involving Cher and Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, Tape Room Music, Primary Wave and former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung, Concord and Plain White T’s frontman Tom Higgenson, BMG and Snap!’s Michael Münzing, and others.