This isn't the first time music rights have been used to back debt obligations. David Bowie pioneered similar deals in the late 1990s when he securitised royalty streams from his catalog of music in a model that was later replicated by musicians including James Brown and The Isley Brothers. (Straitstimes)
More recently, bonds backed by recording artists' performing rights have hit the market. Separately, a wide range of performers, from Bob Dylan to Shakira have been selling all or some of the rights to their catalogs.
This comes amid a banner year for bankers bundling assets into bonds. They've sold securities backed by everything from fast food franchises to fitness-center fees, at the fastest clip since the global financial crisis as investors chase yield and inflation protection.
Northleaf originally started as TD Capital, a unit of TD Bank Financial Group, before becoming a management-owned firm in 2009. The catalog boasts more than 200 No. 1 Billboard songs and more than 800 charted hits.