Crazy financial escalation around the “grandpas” of rock

Rock and pop songs and hits are transformed into objects of intense financial transactions. Thanks to the explosion of streaming, which allows old hits to be listened to much more than before, the musical catalogs of Anglo-Saxon stars of the 1960s and 1970s are being redeemed at a high price. This week again, David Bowie’s dependents confirmed to the Financial Times negotiate for 200 million dollars (173 million euros) the rights of almost all of the legendary albums of the flamboyant singer, Ziggy Stardust (1972) to Let’s dance (1983) through Heroes (1977).

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Since the announcement in December 2020 of the repurchase (for 300 million to 400 million dollars) of the catalog of 600 songs of Bob Dylan by Universal Music Publishing – the musical publishing subsidiary of the world number one in music, Universal Music Group (UMG ) – is frenzy. The litany grows longer every day: the Californian singer David Crosby has entrusted his rights to Iconic Artists Group, the company of Irving Azoff, which also manages those of Pharrell Williams. Taylor Swift sold her first six albums to an investment fund.

Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks has sold 80% of her catalog to Primary Wave Music. Thanks to the TikTok mobile app, his song Dreams, released in 1977, made a staggering comeback in the United States in 2020. American counterculture icon Paul Simon followed suit, selling more than six decades of songs to Sony Music Publishing. Again for a “nine-figure” amount (over $ 100 million), according to the Music Business Worldwide site.. Buyers remain silent on contracts tailored to each artist. Some of them will recover a percentage of the proceeds once their advance is repaid.

Powerful investors

Faced with the oligopoly formed by the three major majors in the sector (UMG, Sony Music and Warner Music), new competitors are pouring into this market and succeeding in establishing themselves. If the American group Aerosmith chose UMG, Neil Young dropped half of its catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the Merck Mercuriadis company based in Guernsey and listed in the City. During its fiscal year ended at the end of March, the group invested $ 1.08 billion to acquire 84 catalogs, including those of Red Hot Chili Peppers, co-founders of the Blondie group or even iconic hits from Shakira and the B-52’s. In total, the group manages more than 60,000 songs.

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