Rod Stewart Backs Out of Deal to Sell His Catalog, Experts Think He’ll Still Sell
Rod Stewart might be the next big artist to sell his legendary catalog, but not just yet. Per Billboard, the singer was close to a deal with Hipgnosis. Talks with the…
Rod Stewart might be the next big artist to sell his legendary catalog, but not just yet.
Per Billboard, the singer was close to a deal with Hipgnosis. Talks with the company lasted two years only for Stewart to back out of a potential sale.
So, what happened? Stewart said in a statement, "This catalog represents my life’s work. And it’s become abundantly clear after much time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my song catalog, career or legacy."
Billboard noted, "Further details about the potential catalog sale are not known, including whether he intended to sell his full catalog or just a smaller piece or royalty stream. Stewart’s team declined to comment further on the deal when asked for specifics."
The outlet said additional sources speculated this move by Stewart might be strategic. They said that publicly backing out of a deal could be a "great way to drum up business for the catalog."
It's no secret there's big money to be made in catalog sales. Earlier this week, rumors began to circulate about Queen being in the market with their catalog. Reportedly, Universal Music Group is in discussions to acquire the Queen catalog for over $1 billion.
Artists Who Have Sold Their Catalogs in 2022
One of the biggest trends of 2021 was artists selling their catalogs for massive paydays. In 2022, that trend has continued.
Here are some of the biggest names in rock and classic rock/pop who have cashed in on selling their catalogs, music rights, publishing rights and more in 2022.
David Bowie
Bryan Bedder/Getty ImagesIn January 2022, it was announced the Bowie estate brokered a nine-figure deal upwards of $250 million with Warner Chappell Music for the singers publishing catalog. The deal included the songs featured on Bowie's 26 studio albums, posthumous releases, his two studio albums with Tin Machine and other stand-alone singles.
Nancy Wilson
Kristin Murphy/Getty ImagesWilson sold her Heart catalog rights to Round Hill Music in a deal announced in January 2022. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.
Sting
Andrew Toth/Getty ImagesSting made a massive splash in February 2022 selling his entire catalog -- both solo and his music with The Police -- to Universal Music Publishing Group. While Universal did not disclose the price tag of this deal, 'The New York Times' reported the deal is worth at least $250 million or more.
Neil Diamond
Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesAfter Sting's blockbuster sale, Universal Music Publishing Group announced just over two weeks later they purchased the catalog of Neil Diamond. The worldwide agreement included Diamond's entire catalog including 110 unreleased tracks, an unreleased album and archival long form videos. The cost of the deal was not disclosed but was estimated to be nine-figures.
Phil Collins/Genesis
Patrick Balls/Martin GriffinIn September 2022, 'The Wall Street Journal' reported the music rights for Phil Collins and Genesis, along with some of the music of Mike + the Mechanics, sold to Concord Music Group Inc. for a reported $300 million.
Joey Ramone
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesIn October 2022, 'The Wall Street Journal' reported Primary Wave acquired a majority stake in Joey Ramone's music-publishing catalog. The deal cost about $10 million and included all of Ramone's songwriting interests.
