It has a roster of new acts, but none of the songs in its substantial catalogue could be classed as blockbusters. It describes itself as a “full-service, creative music company with a core focus on music publishing”. To answer that, it’s important to get a better understanding of what Round Hill is and what it does. Why would anyone want to buy their catalogue? And, more to the point, why would they pay $35m for it? It feels as if it was not one but two lifetimes ago that the Offspring were the name on our lips. It now owns the rights to the group’s recordings for Columbia – six albums and a hits compilation – and the publishing rights to all nine of their albums, including the three they recorded for Epitaph, among them their biggest seller, Smash (though that is not included in the deal on recordings).
That doesn’t matter to the music rights company Round Hill Music, which has just paid a reported $35m (£24m) to the Offspring to acquire most of their rights. Whatever your feelings about their music, however, it’s likely you no longer think of them as being one of the vital forces of the music industry, nor as one of the heritage acts guaranteed to generate money. Perhaps you’re one of the loyal fans who bought their last album, Days Go By, in 2012, which peaked at No 12 in the US. When was the last time you thought about the Offspring? Maybe when Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) topped the UK charts in 1999? Or maybe you followed them until their final UK hit, (Can’t Get My) Head Around You (No 48 in 2004).
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