According to , Bloomberg, Sony Music has been in discussions to purchase Queen’s entire music catalog, including songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Gaga and more, for a possible $1bn deal (£800m).
According to of the Bloomberg report which stated that talks are continuing, but may not lead to a deal, Sony is working with an investor to complete the transaction, which would be the biggest sale of its type and include merchandising as well as other business opportunities.
According to company filings , Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon are all equal shareholders of Queen Productions Ltd. The company reported revenue of $52m for the fiscal year ending September 2022.
The acquisition of music catalogues has become a hot topic in recent years. Private equity firms and specialist investment funds such as KKR, Blackstone and others have invested billions to compete with traditional music companies.
Songwriting catalogues can be used in advertising, films, radio and for commercials for many years. They also generate royalties for their owners.
In 2021, Bruce Springsteen’s back catalog was purchased by Sony for approximately $500m. Neil Young as well as Bob Dylan also struck deals worth hundreds of millions. Warner Music purchased David Bowie’s entire songbook in 2022 for $250m.
Billboard reported that Sony purchased a 50% stake in Michael Jackson’s music catalog from his estate this year for at least 600m dollars.
Some investments, however, have not fared as well. Last month, after months of turmoil, Blackstone, a private equity firm, agreed to take over Hipgnosis, a British music royalty investment fund that owns rights to artists such as Beyonce and Neil Young.
Hipgnosis conducted a strategic review in order to evaluate its options for the future after shareholders revolted over a planned sale of catalogues.
Sony Music Group and Disney Music Group (which owns the King rights for North America) have been contacted to provide a comment.
A spokesperson for Queen declined comment.
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