CTM Outlander Acquires Shane McAnally Catalog Alongside Other SMACKSongs Works

Pictured (L-R): Thomas Deelder, Creative Director, CTM Publishing; Les Ware, CEO, Outlander Capital; Shane McAnally; Mike McKool, President, Outlander Capital; André de Raaff, CEO, CTM Outlander; Robert Carlton, President, SMACK; Jeff Chown, COO, Outlander Capital; Jason Turner, Counsel, McAnally & SMACK. Photo: Emilio Madrid

CTM Outlander has acquired Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Shane McAnally‘s catalog, alongside other works of SMACKSongs’ Matt McGinn, Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen.

The deal also includes certain elements of McAnally's royalties from his catalog of more than 200 master recordings as a producer as well as an exclusive four-year go-forward co-publishing deal. It is also inclusive of non-dramatic rights to certain songs featured in the nine-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical Shucked.

As a part of the new agreement, McAnally's publishing companies SMACKSongs and SMACKBlue—including works by Walker Hayes, Kylie Morgan, Josh Jenkins and others—will now be administered on a global basis by CTM Outlander.

CTM Outlander is a partnership between the Dallas, Texas-based Outlander Capital, led by Les Ware and Mike McKool, and the Dutch-based leading independent music entertainment company CTM, led by industry veteran André de Raaff. Since launching two years ago, CTM Outlander has invested over a billion U.S. dollars in acquiring music publishing and master rights with notable moves, including the acquisition of TEN Music's publishing assets in 2021 and the catalogs of Natalie Hemby, Ben Burgess and Michael Tyler in 2022.

"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" shares McAnally. "André 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, André 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. I am thankful to the CTM Outlander team for partnering with me to manage my catalog copyrights and am eager to see what we are able to accomplish together over the next several years."

SMACKSongs President Robert Carlton adds, "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," adds de Raaff, CTM Outlander CEO. "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 biproduct of an environment that cultivates ingenuity," shares McKool, Outlander Capital Principal. "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, PLLC.