Music Inc: Why song rights sales are booming
From Bob Dylan to Shakira and now the Red Hot Chili Peppers, many music superstars are selling their song catalogs for hundred-odd-million sums. What s behind the megadeals?
Red Hot Chilli Peppers are the latest music megastars to sell off their music catalog
Publishing rights are a lucrative business, as Michael Jackson found out after he acquired 251 Beatles songs for more than $47 million in 1985 and doubled his money 10 years later.
But that catalog was cheap by today s standards.
Rolling Stone magazine estimates to be around $400 million in late 2020. Dylan had been one of the few artists who had retained the rights to their own catalog. But the balladeer has joined a slew of top-selling music artists who have recently made their publishing rights prized currency in a song acquisition boom.