David Bowie's songwriting rights sold for an estimated $250 million
Warner Music Group's publishing unit has bought late British rock star David Bowie's entire catalog days before the sixth anniversary of the singer's death on January 10.
The English singer-songwriter, who is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most influential musicians, died in 2016.
David Bowie's estate has sold the publishing rights to his "entire body of work" to Warner Chappell Music, the latest massive deal of the recent song rights purchasing boom.
Warner Chappell did not reveal the financial terms of the agreement on Monday, but trade publication Variety said the price tag was upwards of $250 million.
"All of us at Warner Chappell are immensely proud that the David Bowie estate has chosen us to be the caretakers of one of the most groundbreaking, influential, and enduring catalogs in music history," said Guy Moot, head of WCM, in a statement.
"These are not only extraordinary songs, but milestones that have changed the course of modern music forever," he added.
The deal between Bowie's estate and Warner Music includes songs from the 26 studio albums released during his lifetime such as "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Life on Mars?" and "Heroes", as well as the posthumous studio album release "Toy".
This means Warner now houses Bowie's work as a songwriter as well as a recording artist from 1968 through 2016.
Buying frenzy of artists' catalogues
The announcement comes days before Bowie's birthday on January 8, when he would have turned 75, as well as the sixth anniversary of his death on January 10.
The English singer-songwriter, who is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most influential musicians, died in 2016 at age 69 after a lengthy but private battle with cancer.
The deal for his catalog is the latest in the media rights sector, where companies have sought to boost royalties by purchasing artists' catalogs after the pandemic hit physical revenue streams and delayed release of new recordings.
It is part of a frenzy of similar deals as financial markets increasingly are drawn to lucrative music portfolios as an asset class.
Bruce Springsteen's publishing and recorded music rights recently went to Sony for a staggering $500 million, with Bob Dylan also selling his full publishing catalog to Universal for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon and Neil Young are also among the list of artists who have cashed in on their life's work, either in part or entirely.
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