US pop star Britney Spears has become the latest major artist to sell the rights to her music catalogue, which includes global hits such as “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops!…I Did It Again,” US media reported on Tuesday.
According to celebrity news outlet TMZ, the deal is believed to be worth about $200 million, although the exact figure was not disclosed in legal documents.
The reported sum would place Spears’ agreement in the same range as Canadian singer Justin Bieber’s 2023 catalogue sale.
At 44, Spears joins a growing list of high-profile musicians who have cashed in on their publishing rights in recent years, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Shakira and the rock band KISS.
US media said the buyer is music publisher Primary Wave, whose portfolio includes the catalogues of Whitney Houston, Bob Marley and Prince, among others.
Publishing rights entitle owners to royalties each time a song is streamed, broadcast, sold, or used in films and advertising, making them valuable long-term assets in the streaming era.
The booming music rights market has attracted not only specialist investors such as Recognition Music Group and Concord Music Publishing, but also major record labels including Sony, Universal and Warner, all of which have expanded their holdings in recent years.
Spears rose to international fame in the late 1990s and became one of the best-selling artists of the 2000s. However, she has largely stepped back from the music industry in recent years.
In 2021, a US court ended a 13-year conservatorship that had granted her father control over her finances and personal affairs, an arrangement the singer publicly described as abusive.
AFP
