Create Invests $300M in Nettwerk to Support Label’s Management Buyout

Create Music Group is investing $300 million in Nettwerk Music Group to support the managers of the Vancouver-based label buying out their existing investors, Nettwerk said on Friday.

The companies did not disclose which investors Nettwerk’s management is buying out, but previous investors includ Flexpoint Ford, Beedie Capital and Vistara Growth. As part of the agreement, Create will also give Nettwerk, which represents Passenger, Paris Paloma, SYML and Mon Rovîa, access to “substantial” follow-on capital and support services and future growth.

Nettwerk’s management team, including co-founders Terry McBride and Mark Jowett, will increase their ownership stake and continue to lead day-to-day operations of the company, according to the company. The agreement will also provide Nettwerk with access to Create Music Group’s infrastructure, global distribution and label services.

News of the deal comes soon after Nettwerk conducted a round of layoffs that impacted around 10% of its workforce, sources tell Billboard.

Founded and headquartered in Vancouver more than 40 years ago, Nettwerk helped start the careers of Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies and Passenger. In 2016, the company sold its publishing assets to Kobalt’s investment fund, KMC, including songs by 10,000 Maniacs, Teenage Fanclub, Wayne Hancock, the Wild Strawberries, the Submarines, the Lucky Nine, Soulfully, Robert Orrall, Roger Greenaway, Paul Brady, Mutiny Within, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Jesse Malin, Young The Giant, Trivium, Sinead O’Connor, Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy and Delirium. It continued to build a new catalog of songs by inking a go-forward administration deal with Kobalt.

In 2023, the company recapitalized, bringing in a new investor in the form of Flexpoint Asset Opportunity Fund II and additional funding from existing investors Beedie Capital and Vistara Growth. The terms of those deals were not disclosed.

“We’re excited about this next chapter in Nettwerk’s journey,” Nettwerk CEO McBride said in a statement. “Partnering with Create allows us to continue to build on our foundation, grow our capabilities, and provide even more value to the artists we represent — while staying true to our roots as an artist-focused, independent Canadian label.”

The deal with Nettwerk is among the largest of a string of recent investments and acquisitions done by Create Music Group. Last year, Create, which also counts Flexpoint Ford as an investor, recently acquire the electronic labels Monstercat, !K7 and Cr2, as well as deadmau5’s catalog. 

“Terry and his team at Nettwerk have built one of the most enduring and influential independent music companies in the modern era,” added Create Music Group CEO and co-founder Jonathan Strauss. “We are excited to put all of the resources at our disposal behind Terry and his management team to fuel Nettwerk’s continued global growth.”