First State Media Group Ltd. (FSMG), a fund half-owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has acquired the music publishing catalog of Sheryl Crow. No, they did not traipse down to Best Buy and pick up a copy of all her albums. They bought the publishing rights, which generate cash when the songs are used in film and television and played on the radio. So the next time you hear “All I Wanna Do” on the radio and punch the preset buttons because you can’t change it fast enough, remind yourself that some Aussies are getting money.
Publishing is seen as a reliable source of income in the troubled music industry because when a song is used in a major Hollywood film, the producers don’t just grab it off Limewire. They pay.
Is this why Washington Mutual went under? Did they use my money to buy the Get Up Kids back catalog or something? Or did they pass on a potentially lucrative deal to buy Boston’s greatest hits in favor of loaning more money to food stamps recipients looking for a swank condo?
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