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Artists Who Regret Selling Their Performance Rights!!
Published 3 months ago
Description
Keep your own catalogue with Solab Coda!! The world of music publishing has seen a wave of massive catalog acquisitions by firms like Sony, Universal, and Hipgnosis. Artists typically sell their publishing rights, songwriting catalogs, and master recordings to secure massive upfront payouts (often for estate planning or business diversification) in exchange for future royalties. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Significant historical and modern catalog sales include:
- Queen: Sold their recorded music catalog and additional rights (excluding live performance revenue) to Sony Music in 2024 for a record-breaking $1.27 billion. [1, 2]
- Michael Jackson (Estate): Sold a 50% stake in his Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalogue in two massive deals in 2016 and 2024, valued at a total $1.2 billion. [1, 2]
- Bruce Springsteen: Sold his entire catalog of over 300 songs and 20 studio albums to Sony Music in 2021 for an estimated $500 million.