Litmus Music was founded in August 2022 by music industry veterans Hank Forsyth and Dan McCarroll and received $500 million in funding from the Carlyle Group. Since then, the company has acquired copyrights to the music of many artists. In August, Litmus Music struck a deal with country music star Keith Urban, and in June, music producer Benny Bianco sold the company the copyrights to his major hits, including songs by Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Camila Cabello.
Nevertheless, the event is one of the biggest music sales of 2023. In January, rapper Dr. Dre also reportedly sold some of his copyrights to solo albums, N.W.A. records and other music projects for more than $200 million. That same month, Justin Bieber sold the publishing and copyrights to his master recordings for a similar amount.
