A Phil Collins catalogue Sale Deal Is In The Works, And It Now Includes Genesis Rights As Well.

According to sources, a package of Genesis, Phil Collins, and possibly Mike + the Mechanics music assets is nearing completion, but the name of the potential buyer is not yet known to Billboard.

Billboard previously reported that a package of Collins’ rights had been shopped for upwards of $200 million, citing sources. According to sources, that package has now evolved into a larger deal that includes all of Genesis’ publishing and possibly even Mike + the Mechanics’ master recording rights. According to sources, the agreement includes the artist’s share of the master recordings as well as publishing. In Collins’ case, this entails a combination of artist royalties for Atlantic-owned masters and a stake in other Collins solo albums on the label. It’s unclear whether Mike + the Mechanics, which was founded by bassist and guitarist Mike Rutherford during a Genesis hiatus in 1985, owns its masters or if the deal being negotiated only includes Rutherford’s share of the band’s royalties. And, while sources say Genesis owns a significant majority of its master recordings and that the deal includes all of the band’s recordings — including those made when Peter Gabriel was lead singer from 1968 to 1974 — Billboard couldn’t determine if he, or other former band members, had or still have a share of ownership, and if so, if their shares are included in the deal; or if the package only offers ownership rights from the shares of the members from the later iteration.

According to Luminate, the package also includes such Collins solo hits as “In The Air Tonight,” which has 7.26 million song consumption units, “You’ll Be In My Heart” (3.03 million units), and “Against All Odds” (2.43 million units). It also includes master recordings of Collins’ covers of “A Groovy Kind Of Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love,” both of which have sold over one million songs. “That’s All” (1.4 million units), “Invisible Touch” (1.06 million units), and “Land of Confusion,” “In Too Deep,” and “Follow You, Follow Me” are likely to be included in the package (all in the 650,000 to 750,000 unit range). It could also include “The Living Years” (454,000 units) and “All I Need Is A Miracle” by Mike + The Mechanics (231,000 units). During a Genesis hiatus in 1985, Rutherford formed the supergroup Mike + The Mechanics.

When the music rights package is broken down by recording artist, the Phil Collins music assets generate more than twice the activity of the Genesis catalogue, with Billboard estimating its value at around $235 million, based on nearly $4 million in estimated publishing royalties and $8.5 million in master recording revenue from his solo catalogue. Furthermore, this is a different figure than the one used in the previous story because the figure in that report included an estimate for some of his Genesis rights. (This story also uses lower valuation multiples than that story.) Furthermore, because the deal now includes both the Genesis and Mike + the Mechanics catalogues, the valuation is significantly higher than the one cited in the previous story. According to Luminate, the Collins catalogue has averaged 340,000 album consumption units per year in the United States over the last three years.

Billboard values the Genesis catalog’s recordings and publishing at approximately $85 million, while the Mike + the Mechanics catalogue is valued at approximately $17 million. Over the last three years, the Genesis catalogue has averaged 162,000 album consumption units per year in the United States, while the Mike + The Mechanics catalogue has averaged around 18,000 album consumption units per year. According to Luminate, the Collins catalogue has generated 15.2 million album consumption units in the United States, while the Genesis catalogue has generated 11.3 million units and Mike + The Mechanics has approximately 755,000 album consumption units.

Concord appears to handle the majority of the publishing for all three recording acts. According to sources, the master recording catalogues of Collins, Genesis, and the majority of Mike + the Mechanics are primarily at Warner Music Group, and regardless of who buys the deal, those records will most likely remain there for the foreseeable future.

While sources say that negotiations with a finalist bidder are ongoing, Billboard was unable to determine who that might be. As it stands, some sources have dismissed a number of potential suitors for such a catalogue, claiming that those suitors are no longer in the running.

Tony Smith, Collins’ and Genesis’ manager, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sources say he was shopping the Genesis portion of the music rights package. For the previous story, he emailed Billboard the following statement: “Over the last three or four years there have been several major deals, with quite a few bidders in the market looking to purchase publishing and recording copyrights, amongst many others we have been approached on several occasions.” While we continue to monitor market activity as managers, this should not be considered shopping or being for sale. It is beyond our control or concern how people describe the fact that we answered the phone.”

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