Randy Newman's music publishing rights, as well as his stake in his recorded catalogue, have been acquired by Litmus Music — a firm backed by multinational private equity company the Carlyle Group — for an undisclosed sum.
The career-spanning deal comprises the seminal movie scores and solo hits Newman has been producing since the 1960s, including his compositions for Disney franchises like Toy Story ("You've Got a Friend in Me," "We Belong Together"), Monsters, Inc. ("If I Didn't Have You") and The Princess and the Frog ("Almost There"). He's also worked on an extensive list of non-animated films like Seabiscuit, Meet the Parents, Ragtime, Three Amigos, and his recent collaborations with director Noah Baumbach on Marriage Story and The Meyerowitz Stories.
"Randy Newman is a unique and brilliant songwriter, composer, and performer whose body of work has proven him to be an artist for the ages," Litmus Music co-founder and chief creative officer Dan McCarroll said in a statement. "There is absolutely no one like him, and his influence on the music world cannot be overstated. We couldn't be more proud and excited to acquire Randy's catalog of beautiful, witty and sharply observational songs."
The rights to Katy Perry's first five studio albums for Capitol Records and Keith Urban's master recordings, as well as a package of publishing and performance copyrights from Benny Blanco, are among Litmus's acquisitions since its launch in August 2022.