Founded by Charles Goldstack in 2022, Gold State Music has raised USD 500 million to win more music rights.
According to a announcement on Thursday (April 17), Strategic Capital Raising includes “structured capital facilities,” co-led by Northleaf Capital Partners and Ares Management Funds, and “separately leveraged.” Additional terms for private transactions have not been disclosed.
Goldstate's new backer, Ares Management Corporation, is a giant in the alternative investment sector.
According to a press release, ARES Management Corporation's global platform has over $525 billion in managed assets as of December 31, 2024 and operates in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Northleaf Capital Partners is a global private market investment company that has so far raised with over $28 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments.
Northleaf and Goldstate's partnership marks the latest and important move in the music rights world after the Toronto-based company formed a $500 million alliance with Spirit Music Group owner Lyric Capital Group in 2021.
“The new relationship between Northleaf and Ares is the next step in the evolution of our music investment strategy.”
Charles Goldstack
Goldstate founder and managing partner Charles Goldstuck said Thursday that the Florida-based company “the new relationship with Northleaf and Ares is the next step in the evolution of (the company's) music investment strategy.”
Gold stack added: “This additional capital will allow us to take advantage of the increased demand for music and further accelerate our ability to build a diverse portfolio of musical assets across artists and genres.
“As leading institutional investors, North Leaf and Ares bring important experiences to support Gold State's continued growth and differentiation, and benefit artists, investors and other stakeholders.”
GoldStuck is a music industry veteran with positions on major labels such as Arista Records, Capitol Records, J Records, and RCA.
He also served as president/COO of Bertelsmann Music Group and co-chair of Hitco Entertainment, co-founded with La Reid in 2018. The hit was sold to Concord in September 2022.
Goldstate's $500 million salary increases news arrives at around $200 million, months after reported reporting two catalogs from Catchpoint Rights Partners and AMR songs.
Other notable investors have come to Gold State's financial aid, including FlexPoint Ford, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Regions Bank and Tavistock Group, according to the company's website.
The company's music rights portfolio includes rights from Alan Walker, All Time Low, The Dead Kennedys and other superstars, according to its website.
Goldstate's growth portfolio includes touch-tumblr for the music and entertainment platform, where GoldStuck is executive chairman. Sanctuary is a recording studio located within the luxury resort community of Albany, Bahamas, founded by Gold Stack. Create Music Group is a Los Angeles-based music distribution, publishing and data analytics company.
(Goldstate took part in the Create Music Group's $165 million funding round last June, with private equity firm FlexPoint Ford. Funding was understood to have seen the FlexPoint-led group get nearly a fifth of Create's equity.)
“Northleaf's investment in Goldstate is directly in line with our asset-based specialized financial strategy, which is designed to provide diverse correlated exposures while providing strong cash yields for investors.”
CJ Wei, Northleaf
CJ Wei, managing director of private credits at Northleaf, said: “The Goldstate, led by Charles, is well suited to implement a disciplined music acquisition strategy, and Northleaf is pleased to support the company and its exceptional team.
“Northleaf's investment in Goldstate is directly in line with our asset-based specialized financial strategy, which is designed to provide diverse correlated exposures while providing strong cash yields for investors.”
“Charles and Gold State's music brings a bold, visionary approach to music rights investments that seek to empower artists.”
Jeevan Sagoo, Ares Management
Jeevan Sagoo, managing director of Ares Management, added:
“We are excited to work with them to provide Ares' deep sector and investment experience as we advance our long-term growth and value creation strategies.”
Goldstate's $500 million salary increases showcases the latest vote on trust in Private Equity World's music rights.
Last month, Pophouse Entertainment, a Swedish-based music investment company co-founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus, announced it had raised more than 1.2 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) from its debut fund.Music business all over the world
