Britney Spears just made a major deal.
The pop star has officially sold her ownership share in her music catalog to publisher Primary Wave, multiple outlets reported, with TMZ the first to break the news. Though no amount for the sale was publicly disclosed, TMZ reports that the singer received a “landmark deal” for the catalog, similar to the $200 million Justin Bieber received for his own.
Spears first hit the pop music scene in the late ‘90s, skyrocketing to fame with her 1999 album …Baby, One More Time. She has released a total of nine studio albums, which featured massive hits like “Oops!…I Did It Again,” “Toxic,” “I’m a Slave 4 U” and “Gimme More.” Her most recent album, Glory, dropped in 2016, and her most recent single, “Mind Your Business,” with artist Will.i.am, was released in 2023.
Spears, whose controversial conservatorship came to an end after 13 years in 2021, has not spoken out about the music sale. However, she’s hardly the only artist to sell off ownership rights to her music.
What does it mean for an artist to sell their music?
When an artist sells ownership rights to their music, they are essentially giving up the ability to collect the future income those songs would have generated from things like licensing, radio play or streaming. This means that rather than making money little by little over time, artists receive a single lump-sum payment upfront.
Artists may also choose to sell only aspects of their songs, such as their songwriter or publishing rights. In that case, they are giving up the right to collect specific royalties tied to the songs’ compositions while potentially keeping other ownership interests.
An artist selling their ownership rights does not mean they can’t perform their music again. They can still sing their songs at events and at concerts and earn money from those performances.
What other artists sold their music?
Many big stars have sold their ownership rights. In 2023, Bieber sold his rights to his 291-song catalog to Hipgnosis in a deal worth a reported $200 million.
Hipgnosis now owns full rights to the income generated from Bieber’s songwriting and recording credits. However, Bieber’s original master recordings remain under the ownership of Universal Music Group indefinitely. (More on what that means later!)
Other artists who have sold their catalogs in recent years include Bob Dylan, who sold his entire songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing in 2020. Shakira sold her music publishing rights to Hipgnosis in 2021. That same year, Bruce Springsteen sold both his master recordings and publishing rights to Sony Music in a deal worth more than $500 million.
What’s the difference between selling your masters and your rights?
Your master recordings are the actual recordings, while your ownership and publishing rights are the songs you wrote.
Taylor Swift, for example, recently bought back her masters after they were purchased from her previous record label by a private equity company — something the artist said was extremely significant to her. Before she retained her masters, she was able to rerecord her previous albums, creating “Taylor’s Versions” with new recordings based on the previous compositions she had control over.
Many artists do not own their master recordings, and while some stars are OK with the arrangement, others feel it stifles their independence. Prior to Swift speaking out, Prince advocated for artists to retain masters rights, stemming from his frustration at not owning the masters to much of his early music, which was controlled by his record label, Warner Bros.