Bruce Springsteen sells music rights to Sony for $697m

Bruce Springsteen has reportedly sold his music rights to Sony for half a billion dollars, the latest star to join a pandemic-fuelled catalogue sales frenzy.

Bruce Springsteen has sold more than 150 million record with Sony’s Columbia Records.

Bruce Springsteen has reportedly sold his music rights to Sony for half a billion dollars, the latest superstar singer to join a frenzy of catalogue sales fuelled by the pandemic.

According to The New York Times and US entertainment outlet Billboard, the $US500m ($697m) sale comprises Springsteen’s music catalogue, as well as his entire body of work as a songwriter, such as Born in the USA, which has sold 30 million copies.

The Times cited sources briefed on the deal, but no public announcement has been made.

The Boss, 72, has been with Sony’s Columbia Records for his entire 50-year career, during which he’s sold more than 150 million records.

Admired at home and around the world, the New Jersey-born musical folk storyteller has won 20 Grammy Awards.

He recently launched a conversational podcast and accompanying book with former US president Barack Obama, titled Renegades: Born in the USA.

The pandemic has left the performance industry reeling but music publishing, a normally under-the-radar side of the business, is a booming business.

The royalty streams of songwriting copyright portfolios can prove lucrative for the long haul, and increasingly are enticing investors, even as other industries tank under the weight of the pandemic.

In October, 81-year-old Tina Turner sold her music rights to German group BMG for an undisclosed amount.

Bob Dylan sold his catalogue to Universal Music for an estimated $US300m.

The 2016 Nobel laureate for literature Bob Dylan, 80, sold his entire catalogue to Universal Music a year ago, for an estimated $US300m.

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks reportedly received $US100m for her majority stake in the group’s catalogue, while Canadian-American singer Neil Young, pop-punk band Blondie, and Shakira also signed deals for unspecified amounts.

Industry experts say catalogue prices started rising before last year, but skyrocketed during the pandemic when artists found themselves deprived of concerts.

The company leading much of the business is Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a British investment and management company launched on the London Stock Exchange in July 2018. Other major players include Primary Wave, which struck the Nicks deal, Tempo Investments, Round Hill, and Reservoir.

David Crosby, singer-songwriter and founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, said earlier this year he was selling his own catalogue ­because Covid had halted the live performances that many artists depended on.

“The main reason is simply that we’ve all been sort of forcibly ­retired, and can’t do anything about it,” he said.

Many musicians also say that streaming services benefit only major artists while paying older, cult and up-and-coming musicians extremely little.

AFP