Mprs expands with new producer catalog acquisition partnership alongside Milk & Honey

Fast-growing producer royalty company mprs is now buying producer catalogs – in partnership with Milk & Honey

June 4, 2026 By Tim Ingham

mprs , the rights management company focused on producer and mixer royalties, is expanding into producer catalog acquisitions .

Milk & Honey has signed up to partner in the new acquisition vehicle , while advising on M&A opportunities in the market.

Founded in 2021 , mprs – pronounced ‘ Empress ‘ – was spun out of artist management and services company mtheory when Universal Music Group acquired mtheory’s label division.

New York-headquartered mprs is led by CEO Jon McMillan , who co-founded mtheory in 2010 alongside JT Myers and Nat Pastor – the duo who now run Universal’s Virgin Music Group .

Described in a media release as “the company that does for producer royalties what publishers do for songwriters”, mprs ‘s platform spans administration, auditing, and advances – now joined by catalog acquisitions .

mprs ‘s clients include producers and mixers such as Julian Bunetta , Oak Felder , James Ford , John Ryan , and many other major names in the space.

> “Our job is to help producers make the best decisions for their catalogs and careers. It could mean administration, an advance, a sale, or some combination of the three… at mprs , we can prioritize the right long-term outcome for the client rather than pushing a single transaction.” Jon McMillan, mprs

“Producer and mixer royalties are incredibly valuable, but they’re operationally difficult,” said Jon McMillan .

“Most catalogs are fragmented across labels, distributors, contracts, statements and territories, to the point where many creators don’t know how to think about the ongoing value of their own work. Before anyone can properly value these assets, you have to properly understand and administer them.”

“That’s what mprs has spent years building for producers.”

mprs clarified that its new acquisition capability is not a separate standalone fund, but an extension of expanded private and institutional backing into the existing business – allowing it to pursue deals at scale “without the constraints of a finite fund structure”.

Said McMillan : “Our job is to help producers make the best decisions for their catalogs and careers. It could mean administration, an advance, a sale, or some combination of the three.

“Because all of these solutions now exist within the same ecosystem at mprs , we can prioritize the right long-term outcome for the client rather than pushing a single transaction.”

> “For half a decade [we’ve] put our clients on the mprs platform and seen it really grow into the best in class. Being a key part of the acquisition vehicle, and helping support all initiatives of the company, is something we’re incredibly excited about.” Lucas Keller , Milk & Honey

Milk & Honey , founded by Lucas Keller and Nic Warner in 2014 , manages songwriters, producers and DJs, as well as top athletes, and runs a music catalog M&A brokerage.

The company recently launched Milk & Honey Records with The Orchard , and says it has handled more than $300 million in catalog sale transactions over the past five years.

“Lucas and the Milk & Honey team understood very early what we are building,” said McMillan . “We’ve worked closely together across many shared clients over the years, and they’ve been huge supporters of our mission to bring more transparency, structure and liquidity to producers.”

Milk & Honey founder Lucas Keller said: “mprs has built something genuinely differentiated in the producer royalty space. Their understanding of the operational side of these assets is incredibly sophisticated, and that creates real value for creators.”

Added Keller : “The relationship to join forces is a natural and organic one, born out of half a decade of putting our clients on the mprs platform and seeing the company really grow into the best in class. Being a key part of the acquisition vehicle next, and helping support all initiatives of the company, is something we’re incredibly excited about.”

mprs has not named the institutional backers behind its acquisition drive. MBW understands the company has significant capital at its disposal to pursue producer catalog deals at scale.

mprs says it administers eight figures in annual master-point royalties, has written more than $5m of advances to producers, and recovers multiple millions each year in previously uncollected income for clients.

The company is targeting what the industry has long called the ‘ missing millions ‘ within the master-points ecosystem, and says it will keep pushing into international markets for both administration and acquisition. Music Business Worldwide

_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/?p=259256)._