Data / Music Catalog Deal Tracker
Music Catalog Deal Tracker: Public Deals 2019–2026
By SPACE Editorial Team. Updated September 30, 2026.
This tracker lists 52 publicly reported music catalog acquisitions from 2019 to 2026. Every row links to the report it comes from. A price is shown only when the parties or a filing disclosed it (7 deals) or a named publication reported it (33 deals). The other 12 prices were not disclosed. SPACE does not estimate prices.
Found an error or a missing deal? Email hello@spacemusic.io with a source.
Deals by date
| Date | Buyer | Seller | What was sold | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | Pophouse Entertainment | Iron Maiden | 50% stake in publishing and master rights, plus name/image/likeness (incl. 'Eddie') | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Iron Maiden sells stake in catalog, name, image & likeness rights to Pophouse |
| Jul 2026 | Influence Media Partners (with BlackRock-managed funds) | Anthem Entertainment | substantially all assets: publishing catalogs (24,000+ released songs), film & TV publishing, master recordings Expected to close Q4 2026. MBW had earlier reported the offer at a little over $650 million. | over $600 million | Music Business Worldwide — Confirmed: Influence Media Partners to acquire Anthem Entertainment catalogs for over USD $600M |
| May 2026 | Sony Music Publishing (with a Sony Music Group/GIC venture) | Blackstone (Recognition Music Group) | Recognition's entire catalog, shares in over 45,000 songs Financial terms not disclosed. Billboard's sources put the catalog nearer the $2 billion range. Recognition is the former Hipgnosis Songs Fund portfolio. | $3.5 billion to $4 billion (reported by Bloomberg) | Music Business Worldwide — Sony Music Publishing confirms agreement to acquire Blackstone's Recognition Music Group catalog, encompassing over 45,000 songs |
| May 2026 | Warner Music Group (via its joint venture with Bain Capital) | Red Hot Chili Peppers | recorded music catalog, 13 studio albums (1984–2022) First reported by The Hollywood Reporter, which cited $350 million. | more than $300 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Red Hot Chili Peppers sells recorded music catalog to Warner Music Group for $300 million+ |
| May 2026 | Primary Wave Music | Pete Townshend | certain music rights (incl. songs from The Who repertoire), name/image/likeness and future creative projects | $100 million-plus (reported) | Variety — Pete Townshend's Music Catalog and Other Rights Acquired by Primary Wave Music in Nine-Figure Deal |
| Apr 2026 | Bertelsmann (BMG) | Concord (Great Mountain Partners affiliates) | merger of BMG and Concord, including both companies' publishing and recorded catalogs A merger, not a catalog sale. Bertelsmann owns about 67% and Great Mountain affiliates about 33% plus a one-time cash payment of $1.16 billion. Completed September 1, 2026. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — BMG and Concord confirm merger, with Bertelsmann as majority-owner |
| Mar 2026 | HarbourView Equity Partners | Quincy Jones estate | select recorded music and publishing assets, ancillary rights, name/image/likeness partnership | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Quincy Jones estate sells catalog and ancillary rights to HarbourView |
| Mar 2026 | Pophouse Entertainment | BMG and the Tina Turner estate | majority stake in Tina Turner's music interests (artist share of recordings, writer's share, neighboring rights) and NIL rights BMG keeps a significant minority stake. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Tina Turner music interests acquired by Pophouse in 'strategic transaction' with BMG |
| Mar 2026 | Primary Wave Music | Francisco Partners | Kobalt Music Group: worldwide publishing operations, owned copyright catalog and AMRA A company acquisition. Announced March 2026 and closed in July 2026. | north of $1.5 billion (Billboard estimate) | Music Business Worldwide — Confirmed: Primary Wave Music to acquire Kobalt from Francisco Partners |
| Feb 2026 | Sony Music Group | Blackstone (Recognition Music Group) | tranche of publishing rights and some master royalty streams (incl. Jeff Bhasker and Jack Antonoff works) Reported by Billboard. | more than $200 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Blackstone sells part of Recognition Music catalog to Sony Music for over $200m (report) |
| Nov 2025 | HarbourView Equity Partners | Slipknot | majority stake in catalog (publishing and masters; no future works) Figure first reported by Billboard in August 2025. | about $120 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Slipknot sell majority stake in catalog to HarbourView Equity Partners |
| Sep 2025 | Reservoir Media | Miles Davis estate | about 90% of Miles Davis' music publishing and of the estate's income from his recordings Terms not disclosed. Press estimates put it in the $40–60 million range. Sony retains the classic recordings. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Reservoir acquires Miles Davis publishing catalog |
| Sep 2025 | BMG | Spirit Music Group | Jason Aldean's recorded catalog and neighboring rights, plus rights from 22 other artists and songwriters (1,000+ songs) BMG called it its largest single catalog acquisition investment. | around $250 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — BMG acquires Jason Aldean's recorded catalog plus tranche of other rights in $250m deal |
| May 2025 | Taylor Swift | Shamrock Capital | masters of her first six albums Price not disclosed. MBW described it as a nine-figure sum. Billboard's sources said Swift paid close to the roughly $360 million Shamrock had paid. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Taylor Swift buys back master rights to first six albums from Shamrock Capital |
| May 2025 | Round Hill Music | Terry Shaddick, Linus Eklow, Carmine Appice, Dirty Heads, Al Stewart | publishing catalogs (Shaddick, Eklow, Appice, Dirty Heads) and selected Al Stewart master rights Several deals announced together. The figure is the combined value. | upwards of $25 million combined (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Round Hill, with $1.1bn music portfolio, strikes flurry of catalog acquisitions |
| Apr 2025 | Influence Media Partners | DJ Khaled | interest in recorded music and publishing catalog, plus two joint ventures The reported figure covers the whole package, not the catalog alone. | low nine figures (reported) | Variety — DJ Khaled Strikes Nine-Figure Deal With Influence Media for Music Catalog and Two New Joint Ventures |
| Mar 2025 | Primary Wave | The Notorious B.I.G. estate | 50% interest in publishing, recordings and certain name/image/likeness rights | deal valued the estate at $200 million (reported by the Wall Street Journal) | Music Business Worldwide — Primary Wave acquires stake in Biggie Smalls catalog in deal valuing Notorious B.I.G. estate at $200m |
| Feb 2025 | Warner Music Group | Providence Equity Partners | controlling stake in Tempo Music Investments (rights incl. Wiz Khalifa, Tyler Joseph, Florida Georgia Line, Jonas Brothers) Providence keeps a minority stake. | north of $450 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Confirmed: Warner buys majority stake in Tempo |
| Oct 2024 | Sony Music | Pink Floyd | recorded music catalog, neighboring rights, name and likeness (publishing excluded) First reported by the Financial Times. | approximately $400 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Sony strikes deal to acquire Pink Floyd catalog in $400 million deal, say sources |
| Sep 2024 | Litmus Music | Opus Music Group | company owning rights in Juice WRLD, Ozuna, Maluma and Rauw Alejandro catalogs Billboard had reported an asking price above $200 million. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Litmus Music acquires Opus, owner of Juice WRLD and Maluma rights, after extending credit facility to $400m |
| Jul 2024 | Blackstone | Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders | London-listed fund with 138 catalogs, rights in more than 40,000 songs Public takeover completed after a bidding contest with Concord. The fund was later renamed Recognition Music Group. | $1.584 billion ($1.31 per share in cash) | Music Business Worldwide — Blackstone's Hipgnosis Songs Fund is no longer a publicly traded company |
| Jun 2024 | Sony Music | Queen (band members and Queen companies) | recording and publishing rights, royalties from prior Disney and UMG deals, name and likeness; excludes live performance First reported by Hits, citing sources. MBW later reported Apollo as a co-funder. | £1 billion (about $1.27 billion) (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Queen catalog to be acquired by Sony Music in $1.27bn deal (report) |
| Apr 2024 | Pophouse Entertainment | KISS | song catalog, artist share of masters, publishing, brand name, image and likeness | more than $300 million (reported by Bloomberg and AP) | Music Business Worldwide — KISS sells song catalog, name and IP to Pophouse, company behind ABBA Voyage, in $300m deal |
| Feb 2024 | Sony Music Group | Michael Jackson estate | 50% of Michael Jackson's publishing (including the Mijac catalog) and recorded masters Excludes 'MJ' Broadway musical royalties. A California appeals court cleared the deal in August 2024. | at least $600 million for the stake, valuing the catalog at $1.2 billion or more (reported) | Variety — Sony Music Acquires Major Stake in Michael Jackson Catalog, Valued at $1.2 Billion-Plus |
| Feb 2024 | Universal Music Group (minority) and Dundee Partners (majority) | KKR | KKR's majority stake in Chord Music Partners (60,000+ copyrights); UMG took a 25.8% interest | $240 million for UMG's 25.8% stake; Chord valued at $1.85 billion | Music Business Worldwide — Universal Music buys $240m stake in Chord Music Partners |
| Sep 2023 | Litmus Music (backed by Carlyle) | Katy Perry | her stake in master royalty income and publishing for five albums (2008–2020) | around $225 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Katy Perry sells music rights to Litmus Music in $220m+ deal |
| Sep 2023 | Concord | Round Hill Music Royalty Fund (London-listed) | 51 catalogs, over 150,000 songs, plus a stake in the Carlin catalog Takeover offer of $1.15 per share. Completed November 2023. | approximately $468.8 million | Music Business Worldwide — Concord set to buy Round Hill's UK-listed royalty fund in a huge $468.8m deal |
| Jan 2023 | Hipgnosis Songs Capital (Hipgnosis and Blackstone) | Justin Bieber | publishing copyrights, master recording and neighboring rights interests in 290+ titles released before 2022 UMG retains ownership of the masters; the buyer receives Bieber's artist royalties. | about $200 million (reported, per the Wall Street Journal) | Music Business Worldwide — Done deal: Justin Bieber sells catalog to Hipgnosis' Blackstone fund |
| Sep 2022 | Concord | Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks (Genesis) | publishing and recorded music income for the three members' solo work and Genesis Excludes Peter Gabriel's and Steve Hackett's shares. | over $300 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks of Genesis sell rights to Concord in $300m deal |
| May 2022 | Hipgnosis Songs Capital (Hipgnosis and Blackstone) | Justin Timberlake | 100% of his song catalog (writer and publisher share) | just above $100 million (reported) | Variety — Justin Timberlake Sells Song Catalog to Hipgnosis for 'Just Above' $100 Million |
| Feb 2022 | Universal Music Publishing Group | Sting | entire song catalog, solo and The Police | north of $300 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Sting sells song catalog to Universal for $300m+ |
| Feb 2022 | Universal Music Group | Neil Diamond | entire song catalog and all master recordings, including 110 unreleased tracks Terms not disclosed. Billboard estimated a valuation of about $145 million. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Neil Diamond sells complete song catalog and all master recordings to Universal |
| Feb 2022 | Spirit Music Group | Jason Aldean | 90% of artist share of masters (nine albums), plus neighboring rights and SoundExchange royalties Resold to BMG in 2025 (see below). | upwards of $100 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Spirit Music Group buys Jason Aldean masters in $100m+ deal |
| Jan 2022 | Sony Music Entertainment | Bob Dylan | entire recorded music catalog since 1962, plus rights to multiple future releases Agreement concluded July 2021, announced January 2022. | $150 million to $200 million (reported) | Variety — Bob Dylan Sells Recorded-Music Catalog to Sony Music |
| Jan 2022 | Warner Chappell Music | David Bowie estate | publishing catalog spanning six decades | upward of $250 million (reported) | Variety — David Bowie's Estate Sells His Publishing Catalog to Warner Chappell |
| Dec 2021 | BMG and KKR | ZZ Top | entire music interests: publishing plus recorded and performance royalty income | around $50 million (reported) | Variety — ZZ Top Sells Catalog to BMG and KKR for Around $50 Million |
| Dec 2021 | Sony Music Group | Bruce Springsteen | recorded music and publishing catalogs MBW's sources put the total above $550 million. Eldridge Industries co-funded the publishing purchase. | about $500 million (reported) | Variety — Bruce Springsteen Sells Catalog to Sony Music |
| Nov 2021 | BMG | Mötley Crüe | recorded music catalog (nine studio albums plus live and compilation releases) | around $90 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — BMG buys Mötley Crüe recordings catalog for around $90 million |
| Oct 2021 | Chord Music Partners (KKR with Dundee Partners) | Kobalt Capital (KMR Music Royalties II) | portfolio of over 62,000 copyrights Price confirmed by Kobalt Capital. | approximately $1.1 billion | Music Business Worldwide — Confirmed: Kobalt sells catalog to new KKR venture, Chord, for $1.1 billion |
| Oct 2021 | BMG | Tina Turner | artist's share of recordings, writer's share of publishing, neighboring rights, name/image/likeness | around $50 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — BMG buys bundle of Tina Turner rights in music's latest big-money deal |
| Jun 2021 | Reservoir Media | Tommy Boy Music (Tom Silverman) | record label and publishing company, 6,000+ master recordings Disclosed in an SEC filing by Roth CH Acquisition Co. II, the SPAC merging with Reservoir. | about $100 million | Music Business Worldwide — Reservoir buys Tommy Boy Music in $100m deal |
| May 2021 | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | Red Hot Chili Peppers | song catalog (publishing) | upwards of $140 million (reported) | Variety — Red Hot Chili Peppers to Sell Song Catalog to Hipgnosis for Upwards of $140 Million |
| Mar 2021 | Sony Music Publishing | Paul Simon | complete song catalog, including Simon & Garfunkel era Terms not disclosed. Later press coverage cited a figure around $250 million from sources. | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Paul Simon sells song catalog to Sony Music Publishing |
| Jan 2021 | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | Neil Young | 50% of the copyright and income interests in his song catalog (1,180 songs) Terms not disclosed. Press estimates conflicted, from about $50 million (Variety source, disputed) to around $150 million (MBW). | Undisclosed | Billboard — Neil Young Sells 50% of Song Catalog to Hipgnosis |
| Jan 2021 | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | Shakira | 100% of publishing rights, publisher and writer's share (145 songs) | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis buys 100% of Shakira's publishing catalog, spanning 145 songs |
| Dec 2020 | Primary Wave Music | Stevie Nicks | 80% interest in her publishing copyrights | 80% stake in copyrights valued at about $100 million (reported, per the Wall Street Journal) | Music Business Worldwide — Primary Wave buys majority stake in Stevie Nicks publishing catalog for around $80m |
| Dec 2020 | Universal Music Publishing Group | Bob Dylan | entire song catalog, 600+ copyrights (publisher and writer shares) | between $300 million and $400 million (reported, industry sources) | Music Business Worldwide — Universal buys Bob Dylan publishing rights, acquiring catalog worth hundreds of millions of dollars |
| Nov 2020 | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | Kobalt Capital (KMR Music Royalties I fund) | 42 catalogs, over 33,000 songs Hipgnosis stated an 18.3x blended multiple on historic annual income. | $322.9 million | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis Songs Fund buys huge catalog from Kobalt in $322.9m acquisition |
| Nov 2020 | Shamrock Capital | Ithaca Holdings (Scooter Braun) | masters of Taylor Swift's first six albums, plus music videos and album artwork | about $300 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Confirmed: Taylor Swift masters sold by Scooter Braun to Shamrock |
| Oct 2019 | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | Timbaland | 100% of producer royalties across a catalog of 108 albums and songs | Undisclosed | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis acquires Timbaland catalog |
| Jun 2019 | Ithaca Holdings (Scooter Braun) | Big Machine Label Group (Scott Borchetta and shareholders) | record label and publishing operation, including masters of Taylor Swift's first six albums A company acquisition that included a major artist masters catalog. | more than $300 million (reported, per the Wall Street Journal) | Variety — Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings Acquires Big Machine Label Group |
| May 2019 | Primary Wave Music Publishing | Whitney Houston estate | 50% stake in estate assets: music and film royalties, merchandise, name and likeness rights | about $7 million for the 50% stake; estate valued at $14 million (reported) | Music Business Worldwide — Primary Wave Music Publishing acquires 50% stake in Whitney Houston Estate |
Publicly stated valuation multiples
These multiples were stated by the companies or valuers named below. They use different bases (net publisher share, net label share, net revenue) and periods, so they are not directly comparable with each other or with any single catalog. SPACE does not use a fixed multiple; every catalog is reviewed individually.
| Multiple | What was said | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.75x historical three-year average net income | Hipgnosis Songs Fund's first annual report said its first 12 catalogs (£120m) 'represented a blended acquisition multiple of 12.75x historical three year average net income' Hipgnosis Songs Fund's first acquisitions, June 2018 to March 2019 | Jun 2019 | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis already owns over 5,000 songs – with another $1bn-plus of deals in its sights |
| 12.56x annual net income | Hipgnosis Songs Fund report: since IPO, catalogs acquired or under exclusivity with a total value of £387m 'represents an aggregate multiple of 12.56x annual net income' All Hipgnosis catalogs acquired or under exclusivity from IPO to mid-2019 | Jun 2019 | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis already owns over 5,000 songs – with another $1bn-plus of deals in its sights |
| 18.3x historic annual income | Hipgnosis Songs Fund said the $322.9m it paid for Kobalt Capital's first fund 'represents a 18.3X blended acquisition multiple on the catalog's historic annual income' Hipgnosis purchase of 42 catalogs (33,000+ songs) from Kobalt Capital | Nov 2020 | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis Songs Fund buys huge catalog from Kobalt in $322.9m acquisition |
| 15.32x (blended acquisition multiple) | Hipgnosis Songs Fund results: cumulative expenditure of about $2bn since its 2018 IPO 'represents an average/blended acquisition multiple of 15.32x' All Hipgnosis Songs Fund acquisitions from 2018 to early 2021 | Jun 2021 | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis Songs Fund now owns a music catalog worth over $2.2 billion |
| 17.96x historical annual NPS | Hipgnosis Songs Fund's $2.21bn independent portfolio valuation 'reflected a multiple of 17.96x historical annual net publisher share income' Fair-value multiple of the whole Hipgnosis portfolio. This is a valuation, not a purchase price. | Jun 2021 | Music Business Worldwide — Hipgnosis Songs Fund now owns a music catalog worth over $2.2 billion |
| 16.2x historic annual net revenues | Round Hill Music Royalty Fund said its acquisitions 'were completed at a blended multiple of 16.2x historic annual net revenues' 38 catalogs plus a 29.1% stake in RH Carlin Holdings, about $342m invested as of June 30, 2021 | Sep 2021 | Music Business Worldwide — Round Hill's UK Fund has spent $342m on acquisitions – and is buying catalogs at a multiple of 16.2x |
| 17.9x historic three-year NPS | Round Hill Music Royalty Fund said copyrights bought since July 2021 'were acquired at an average historic three-year net publisher's share multiple of 17.9x' 5,600+ compositions bought with $86.5m of C-share proceeds plus credit facility | Feb 2022 | Music Business Worldwide — Round Hill's UK fund has acquired 5,600 songs since July, paying an average multiple of 17.9x |
| 14.7x NPS/NLS (average acquisition multiple) | Reservoir Media's investor factsheet says its average acquisition multiple has been 14.7x, and that it has on average reduced the 'effective multiple' by 2.3x afterwards Reservoir's catalog acquisitions in recent years, measured on Net Publisher Share / Net Label Share | Apr 2023 | Music Business Worldwide — Reservoir Media has spent over $695m on catalogs to date (and 5 other things we learned about the company from its new Investor Factsheet) |
| 18.3x NLS at purchase; 11.7x effective | Reservoir Media's investor factsheet: a $101.3m acquisition in 2021 was bought at 18.3x Net Label Share ($5.5m); NLS rose to $8.7m in FY2022, cutting the effective multiple to 11.7x A single 2021 recorded-music acquisition by Reservoir, whose name the factsheet does not give | Apr 2023 | Music Business Worldwide — Reservoir Media has spent over $695m on catalogs to date (and 5 other things we learned about the company from its new Investor Factsheet) |
| 19.56x annual net revenue | Citrin Cooperman's independent valuation of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund used 'a multiple of 19.56X annual net revenue', which it said matched the average multiple paid for publishing catalogs in comparable H2 2022–H1 2023 deals Valuation of Round Hill fund assets (incl. Carlin stake) at about $654.75m. Concord's accepted offer of $468.8m was lower. | Sep 2023 | Music Business Worldwide — Concord is ready to pay $468.8m to buy Round Hill's UK fund. How did it reach that price? |
| 10.2x (masters, 10+ yrs); 12.1x (publishing, 10+ yrs) | Duetti's Music Finance Index H2 2026 (a survey of its industry panel) lists perceived multiples for catalogs older than 10 years of 10.2x for masters and 12.1x for publishing, based on annual revenue Sell-side expectations for independent catalogs. Younger catalogs get lower multiples, e.g. 3.8x–5.1x for masters aged 6–24 months. | Jul 2026 | Duetti — Music Finance Index H2 2026 |
How to use this data
Large headline deals involve famous songs and decades of income, so they say little about a smaller catalog. For your own catalog, start from documented net income and the rights being sold. Read how catalog value is set, model a scenario, or request a free catalog review.