Vine Investment Firm Acquires Publishing Catalog of Songwriter Sean Douglas

Vine Alternative Investments has acquired the rights to the 100-plus song publishing catalog of Sean Douglas, a producer and songwriter with a genre-spanning resume that includes tracks by Demi Lovato ("Sorry Not Sorry"), David Guetta ("Hey Mama"), Jason Derulo ("Talk Dirty"), Thomas Rhett ("Die a Happy Man"), and Lizzo ("Like a Girl").

For its inaugural deal in music, Vine acquired both Douglas' writer's share and co-publishing. Previously, Vine acquired film and television assets including Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and Lakeshore Entertainment. "The acquisition of his catalog will strengthen our portfolio and aligns with Vine's strategy of identifying valuable royalty streams and IP of the highest caliber within the media and entertainment space," said Vine partner Rob Amir in a statement.

Amir added, "Sean has curated a publishing powerhouse with some of the most prolific and popular artists of our time. The acquisition of his catalogue will strengthen our portfolio and aligns with Vine's strategy of identifying valuable royalty streams and IP of the highest caliber within the media and entertainment space."

An alternative investment firm like Vine is increasingly common in financing. Low interest rates mean investors get little return -- even a negative return -- from bonds and instead put money into unregulated entities such as hedge funds, private equity firms and venture capital, unregulated alternatives to banks and publicly traded companies. PwC forecasts that alternative investment assets under management will reach $13.9 trillion this year, up from $11.2 trillion in 2016, and will rise 8.7% annually to $21.1 trillion.

Vine focuses on "unique, non-correlated investment opportunities in the media and entertainment sector," according to its website. Put another way, changes in music royalties are not correlated with movements in equities and other investments. As the saying goes, people still listen to music in a recession -- marked by unpredictable stock markets and reduced business and consumer spending.

The deal was negotiated on behalf of Douglas by attorneys Eric Greenspan and Audrey Benoualid of Myman Greenspan. Vine was represented by Mike Poster of Michelman & Robinson.