Variety reported, “The deal includes Perry’s stakes in master recordings and publishing rights for the five albums she released between 2008 and 2020: ‘One of the Boys,’ ‘Teenage Dream,’ ‘Prism,’ ‘Witness,’ and ‘Smile.’ Universal Music Group continues to own the masters to those albums.”
Why are people buying music catalogs? Well, according to the New York Times, “New investors, including private equity firms, have poured billions of dollars into the market, viewing music royalties as a kind of safe commodity — an investment, somewhat like real estate, with predictable rates of return and relatively low risk.”
Because this is becoming a pretty popular trend, let’s look at what other artists have sold their catalogs and how much money they’ve gotten for ’em…
1.
Dr. Dre sold his music catalog in early 2023 for less than the $250 million he pitched, but still apparently well over $200 million.
