Bob Dylan, Adele Music Rights to Back Planned $560 Million Bond

  • Blackstone-backed SESAC plans inaugural whole-business ABS
  • Organization collects royalties for artists like Neil Diamond
Bob Dylan during a rehearsal for an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on May 12, 1963.Source: CBS Photo Archive
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Your favorite Green Day or Guns N’ Roses hit just might help buyers of a new asset-backed bond get paid.

Performing-rights organization SESAC is sellingBloomberg Terminal a $560 million bond backed by assets like licensing agreements that let places such as bars, retailers or fitness centers play popular music. It’s the first such deal for the Blackstone Group Inc.-backedBloomberg Terminal company, which counts Bob Dylan, Adele and Neil Diamond among its roughly 35,000 artists. When SESAC enters a licensing agreement, it collects and distributes royalty payments to artists.