Largest publishing/catalogue sale by a musician

Rock star Bruce Springsteen (USA) sold the publishing copyrights and master recordings from his 50-year career to Sony Music for an estimated $500 million (£378.1 million) in an eye-watering deal announced on 15 December 2021. The back catalogue of “The Boss” features 20 studio albums – spanning 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and 2020’s Letter to You – including the RIAA Diamond-certified/15x multi-platinum Born in the U.S.A. (1984), complete with its seven Top 10 singles. The nine-figure sale also incorporates a slew of live albums, compilations, box sets and EPs, plus career-spanning singles like “Hungry Heart”, “Dancing in the Dark”, “Streets of Philadelphia” and the perennial festive favourite “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”.

Springsteen’s $500-million sale to Sony was another recent example of a heavyweight musician cashing in on their life’s work, with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, David Bowie and Neil Young among the artists signing deals for their recording and/or songwriting catalogues. The driving force was thought to be the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lack of touring. Tellingly, the 10 top-earning musicians of 2021 were dominated by acts who pocketed a fortune from a catalogue mega-sale, with Springsteen ahead of the likes of Simon ($260 million; £192.7 million), Red Hot Chili Peppers ($145 million; £107.5 million) and Mötley Crüe ($95 million; £70.4 million).