Terrapin Station Entertainment, A Sony Music Masterworks Company, Acquires A Majority Stake In Live Event Producer Black Ink Presents

NEW YORK, [July 12, 2023] – Terrapin Station Entertainment, a Sony Music Masterworks company specializing in family-friendly and brand-led live events, sports venue entertainment and artist management, today announced a majority investment in Los Angeles-based production services company, Black Ink Presents. Read more via Billboard here.

A leader in turn-key solutions for music performances and non-traditional experiential entertainment, Black Ink Presents provides creative direction, design, and production management for concerts, tours, and other special and immersive events in the U.S. The company also produces “live-to-film” shows in which a full orchestra performs a film score live, synced with a screening of the film or other media. 

Under the agreement, Black Ink Presents’ CEO John Kinsner, CFO Alek Deva, and COO Mike Kasper will continue to oversee the company’s day-to-day operations and work closely with Jonathan Shank, Founder and CEO of Terrapin Station Entertainment, to develop and grow new live-to-film productions as well as a range of unique and innovative live experiences for IP-based entertainment, including concerts, immersive exhibits, and cruise entertainment.

The expanded relationship between Shank and Black Ink Presents builds on a long running collaboration that includes Deal or No Deal Live and The Bob Marley One Love Experience.     

Recent projects supported by Black Ink Presents include Danny Elfman’s 2022 performances at Coachella and Hollywood Bowl — a groundbreaking, career-spanning show that made Variety’s list of Top 50 Concerts of the Year; Get Happy: A Judy Garland Centennial Celebration, featuring live singers, a big band orchestra, and media from The Judy Garland Show; and Disney’s Encanto in Concert, a large-scale live-to-film spectacle. Other live-to-film productions include event screenings of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, the Disney animated films Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, the Elton John-inspired musical fantasy Rocketman, Get Out from director Jordan Peele, Chicago, The Batman, The Evil Dead, The Goonies, and Ghostbusters.

Jonathan Shank said, “I’ve collaborated with Black Ink on a wide range of projects, and they are tremendously creative and future focused. They have strong knowledge of the intellectual property space, they’ve worked on a range of innovative projects, and they have a passion for finding new pathways. Their skill set, combined with Terrapin’s growing IP roster, will give us a solid foundation, and further expand our presence in non-traditional entertainment.”

John Kinsner said, "After years of working closely with Jonathan and his team, we couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to deepen our partnership with Terrapin and the broader Sony Music Masterworks group. This next chapter represents an unparalleled opportunity for Black Ink to continue to grow, and to build new live entertainment experiences on the cutting edge of music, media, and technology."

Founded in 2020 and based in Los Angeles, Terrapin’s successes include Disney Junior Dance Party, Bob Marley “One Love Experience, and Deal Or No Deal Live. The company also has expanded its work to include a robust sports division, immersive experiences, and charitable events.

The relationship with Black Ink Presents is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships and agreements advancing Sony Music Masterworks’ growth as a multi-faceted worldwide entertainment business. Investments by Sony Music Masterworks also include Terrapin Station Entertainment, as well as Backyard Cinema, an experiential cinema event producer; Culture Creative, a production and project management team specializing in developing site-specific and bespoke projects in unique heritage and landscape settings; Holland-based GEA Live, which designs, represents and produces shows and experiences based on prominent IP in music, film, television, anime, and gaming; The Luna Entertainment Group, the UK market-leader of open-air, drive-in and pop-up cinema experiences which also stages high quality location-based entertainment experiences, exhibitions and events; MAC Global, an award-winning, pan-regional concert promotion, talent management, events and production company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Proactiv Entertainment, the live event producer and promoter based in Barcelona, Spain; Raymond Gubbay Ltd., the music, dance & Light Trail/Lightscape promoter; RoadCo Entertainment, the New York-based producing and distribution agency specializing in live entertainment experiences; Seaview, the Tony and Olivier award-winning media company with theater, film, TV, and digital verticals; and Senbla, the London-based producer/promoter of quality music, theater and immersive events, shows and festivals.

Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records, and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com/. 

For more information and upcoming announcements about Black Ink Presents visit https://blackinkpresents.com/

For more information and upcoming announcements about Terrapin Station Entertainment visit https://terrapinent.com/

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Larissa Slezak | Sony Music Masterworks 

Larissa.Slezak@sonymusic.com 

For more information on Terrapin Station

and Jonathan Shank please contact Shore Fire Media:

Rebecca Shapiro (rshapiro@shorefire.com)

Shannon Cosgrove (scosgrove@shorefire.com) 

MC Miskell (mcmiskell@shorefire.com)