CTM Outlander has acquired a portion of the publishing catalog of songwriter-producer Shane McAnally, in addition to works from SMACKSongs writers Matt McGinn, Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen. The deal includes all songs in McAnally’s production catalog as well as all songs in his songwriting catalog recorded Jan. 1, 2019, and later (his pre-2019 songwriting catalog was previously acquired by Tempo Music).
The agreement also includes an admin deal, with CTM Outlander administering McAnally’s publishing companies SMACKSongs and SMACKBlue, including works from Walker Hayes and Kylie Morgan. Kobalt previously handled admin for SMACKSongs.
Additionally, the deal encompasses elements of McAnally’s royalties from his catalog of over 200 master recordings as a producer, as well as an exclusive, four-year go-forward co-publishing deal, inclusive of non-dramatic rights to certain songs featured in the nine-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical Shucked, which McAnally created alongside Brandy Clark.
McAnally, who has garnered two songwriter of the year awards from the Academy of Country Music, has had songs recorded by artists including Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton and John Legend. As a producer, he has worked with Kelsea Ballerini, Dolly Parton, Carly Pearce and more.
CMT Outlander, a partnership between Texas-based Outlander Capital and Dutch-based music entertainment company CTM, launched two years ago and has steadily invested in acquiring music publishing and master rights. Previous acquisitions include TEN Music’s publishing assets in 2021 and the catalogs of Natalie Hemby, Ben Burgess and Michael Tyler last year.
“I am very excited to start this new partnership built on a mutual passion for all things music, along with the global reach of this incredible team,” McAnally said in a statement. “Andre is a visionary and understands the importance of managing music rights, as he has shown over the course of his career. As I continue to expand my creative work to new areas, Andre and his team recognize the passion I have, not just for creating music in the traditional sense, but also in areas of film, TV, Broadway and beyond.”
Newly-appointed SMACKSongs president Robert Carlton added, “SMACK is thrilled to be working with CTM Outlander for all of its administration needs. Their passion for music, combined with their independent and innovative spirit makes them a great match. I am excited to see what we can accomplish together in this next chapter!”
“It is very rare to come across such a talented and gifted songwriter, producer and creator of music entertainment like Shane McAnally,” added CTM Outlander CEO André de Raaff. “His successes are countless, from pop to country and from musical theatre to developing TV shows. It is a privilege to look after a great part of his legacy and to work with him and the rest of the SMACK team in the future on all the new projects ahead, which period we expect to become more successful than ever!”
“We believe in Nashville’s creative community and are proud to help amplify the stories that are a byproduct of an environment that cultivates ingenuity,” added Outlander Capital principal Mike McKool. “With CTM Outlander’s integration across multiple disciplines, it’s exciting to see the integrity of these catalogs preserved and amplified while also providing this security to the writers.”
McAnally, SMACKSongs, SMACKBlue and SMACK Productions were represented in the sale by Jason Turner, Sarah Smith, Dustin Kovacic and Matthew Jafari of Keller Turner Andrews & Ghanem.
UPDATE (June 8, 4:03 p.m. ET): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the acquisition included McAnally’s entire publishing catalog. In fact, the deal excludes songs in McAnally’s songwriting catalog recorded prior to Jan. 1, 2019. The rights to those earlier songs were previously acquired by Tempo Music.
