Haim Saban Commits $500 Million to New Music Venture

Former executive of Universal Music Latin Entertainment Gustavo Lopez hired to lead Saban Music Group

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Saban Capital Group and Haim Saban, the company’s chairman, are committing an investment of $500 million into the music industry to form a new venture called Saban Music Group, Saban announced Wednesday.

Saban is partnering with music executive Gustavo Lopez, formerly an executive of Universal Music Latin Entertainment, to lead the new company. As part of Lopez coming aboard, Saban Music Group also acquired Talento Uno’s record label, management and publishing assets, which Lopez founded in 2017.

So far Saban Music Group (SMG) has already signed several artists as part of its initial roster, including Israeli duo Static and Ben El, the management of Colombian Reggaeton star Reykon, and French act Marie Monti, the label’s first female international act.

Saban Music Group will further focus on international A&R, artist development and support for artists, and the company will dedicate resources towards the acquisition of recording, publishing and management entities as part of the company’s growth strategy.

“Music has always been one of my life’s greatest passions — shaping, influencing and motivating me on a daily basis,” Saban said in a statement. “It is with great excitement that I re-enter the music business — not only as a businessman but as someone who is passionate about the art, dedicated to the development of worldwide artists and wants to provide world-class entertainment. I look forward to building this company with Gus and working with artists around the world to fully seize their international appeal.”

“Saban Music Group is a Los Angeles-based record label with a worldwide view of the music industry, looking to capture the globalization of music and work with artists who have an international appeal,” Lopez said in a statement. “This will be made possible with the help of Haim Saban, who truly understands the work and resources that go into fully developing artists and creating great music. I thank him for his support and partnership. The new Saban Music Group will have various pillars amongst them: artists signed as partners to 360 models, an acquisitions arm and its own publishing entity.”

Prior to founding Talento Uno, Lopez served as GM/EVP of Universal Music Latin Entertainment, where he worked for 21 years. While at Universal, Lopez founded the Latin-urban label Machete Music and ran multiple labels including Fonovisa/Disa.

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