Katy Perry is the latest musician who got a major payout for their music rights.
Litmus Music — a catalog rights company backed by private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP — announced in September 2023 that it acquired the rights to Perry’s five studio albums released with Capitol Records: One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, PRISM, Witness and Smile. Billboard reported that Litmus allegedly paid $225 million for Perry’s stake in the master recording royalties and music publishing rights.
Publishing rights usually stay with publishers and songwriters, with recorded writs belonging to labels and performers. Over the years, Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Primary Wave have risen as the primary companies buying artists’ back catalogs, paying out millions (and in the case of artists like Perry, Justin Bieber and Bruce Springsteen, hundreds of millions) to artists and labels to own the rights to their classic songs.
After securing the rights, these companies get all the money from royalties, licensing, brand deals and other revenue streams that would generally go to the artists, per Rolling Stone.
There are many reasons for a musician to sell their catalog. There’s a tax benefit: doing a one-time multimillion-dollar payout with a 20 percent tax is much more appealing than facing an annual tax rate as high as 37 percent.
It might also be worth more for an artist to take the multimillion-dollar buyout due to the modern music landscape. Streaming pays less than actual album sales used to, so to make money, an artist needs to tour. Unless you’re Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, even touring doesn’t make as much money as it once did.
The move isn’t just for older legends securing a retirement fund for their golden years. Bieber sold his catalog for $200 million in 2023, ensuring that he will get that $200 million in his lifetime instead of holding onto the rights in the hope of accruing that money through licensing deals and royalties.
Scroll down for a list of major music stars who have sold their catalogs:
