Tina Turner sells her entire music catalog to BMG

Tina Turner has sold her music rights to BMG, says company CEO Hartwig Masuch Rolling stone – marking the latest event in the trend of great heritage artists to profit from their copyrights.

The deal includes Turner’s artist share for his recordings, as well as publishing rights, neighboring rights and his name, image and likeness. BMG declined to disclose financial details of the sale, but BMG has bought back all of its rights and is calling the deal the biggest artist acquisition the company has ever made.

“We all know how iconic Tina’s work is,” Masuch says. “When you look at the dimensions Tina’s career has entered even in the last few years between musicals and documentaries, there is still so much untapped potential with her legacy.”

Masuch enjoys a close personal relationship with Turner and her husband, fellow German music director Erwin Bach, and both sides had spoken casually about the burgeoning landscape of music acquisition for over a year, Masuch says. Formal due diligence discussions for Turner’s catalog began about three months ago after Turner’s team expressed interest in a deal.

As BMG obtains the royalties and assets from Turner, Warner Music will always act as its record company. But BMG says it will work closely with Turner and Warner now that it owns the rights to its catalog. Turner – who originally rose to fame through her partnership with ex-husband Ike Turner – enjoyed a successful solo career following her divorce and the band’s disbandment, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time thanks to five platinum albums. , including quintuple platinum Private dancer. Among Turner’s greatest hits are “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, “The Best” and “Typical Male”.

Masuch highlights digital and social media opportunities as a broader focus for Turner’s music as BMG seeks to reintroduce its hits to a younger generation of potential fans in the streaming age. “It’s no longer a one-dimensional market,” Masuch says of managing the brand of traditional artists alongside music. “With Warner and Tina, we want to expand our reach and influence new audiences. What is the YouTube strategy, what are we doing with TikTok? You have to be way beyond any approach where you just put out a best-of album every four years or sell the rights to a documentary.

Turner, often referred to as the “Queen of Rock & Roll”, was the second artist to cover Rolling stone, after John Lennon, and the first black woman and artist. More or less retired since 2009, Turner has recently enjoyed a renaissance as the music and entertainment industries celebrate his legacy. She will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist at the end of October – her second induction after joining Ike Turner in the 90s. Tina, Turner’s acclaimed youth-based musical, will return to Broadway this month after an extended hiatus due to the pandemic. And earlier this year, HBO released an extensive documentary covering the singer’s career.

“Like any artist, protecting my life’s work, my musical heritage, is something personal,” Turner said in a statement. “I am convinced that with BMG and Warner Music my work is in professional and reliable hands.”

Catalogs and artist copyrights have become in high demand in the industry, as musical valuations continue to rise. Companies like Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Primary Wave, alongside large music companies, have bought publishing rights from major artists and songwriters for ever higher multiples, taking the risk on future royalty income. while sellers take immediate payment. Artists like Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan have all sold publishing rights for hundreds of millions of dollars.

While catalog deals are common, Turner’s deal is more comprehensive, including broader copyrights for his brand, similar to the deal the Beach Boys signed with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group. earlier this year. Masuch says BMG is looking to make similar deals in the future.

As the market warmed, BMG also became more active in acquiring catalogs, purchasing the rights to Mick Fleetwood’s recordings in January. The company has also entered into an ambitious partnership with investment firm KKR – which itself bought a controlling stake in Ryan Tedder’s publishing rights this year – with the aim of securing the most important music catalogs. and the most valuable on the market. Both companies have indicated Rolling stone they were prepared to spend billions through this partnership. Masuch seems a little more conservative about the joint deals they are considering at the moment, but said the two companies will still spend a “significant amount of money” on upcoming acquisitions.

More deals could come sooner rather than later: Masuch says Turner’s deal is the first of several large-scale acquisitions the company will announce in the coming weeks.