Bruce Springsteen sells his music catalog to Sony for $ 500 million

The singer Bruce Springsteen sold the rights to his music catalog to Sony for about US $ 500 million, indicated the American magazine Billboard and the newspaper The New York Times.

This sale, the latest in a frenzy of copyright transfers between global rock stars since 2020, includes the artist’s recorded music catalog as well as his creations as a composer, including hits such as “Born in the USA” or “Streets of Philadelphia ”, indicated sources familiar with the agreement to these media.

The transaction has not been publicly announced.

Asked by the New York Times, Springsteen’s entourage declined to comment on the matter and Sony Music did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.

150 million records

“The Boss”, as the rocker is known, sold more than 150 million records in half a century, during which time it remained with the Columbia Records label, a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational Sony.

Born in New Jersey, Springsteen is one of the last music stars to sell his catalog, following in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, Tina Turner or Neil Young, who did it only for part of his work.

The acquisitions of musical rights experience a boom, since they can be very profitable in the long term since the use of each song, be it a download, a fragment included in a film or in an advertisement, generates the payment of rights.

Booming market

Since 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been great commercial maneuvers for the acquisition of music rights, especially with the rise of music streaming platforms.

The financial markets are interested in these “portfolios” of renowned and timeless artists capable of generating stable income streams from the exploitation of their works.

Recent transactions have reached astronomical figures, which however have not been officially disclosed.

In October, 81-year-old Tina Turner sold her music rights to German group BMG for a sum that is kept confidential.

Last year 80-year-old Bob Dylan sold his published catalog to Universal Music for an estimated $ 300 million. While Stevie Nicks, of the rock band Fleetwood Mac, did the same with a majority part of the group’s catalog and would have obtained US $ 100 million.

American-Canadian singer Neil Young and duo Blondie have also signed deals for still-secret amounts, as has Shakira.

According to industry experts, the price increase in artist catalogs began before 2020 but soared with the pandemic as artists were deprived of tours and concerts.