British music star
Rod Stewart sells song rights for almost $100 million
The British musician Rod Stewart is known, among other things, with the song “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” known
© Javier Vicencio / DPA
Good business for Rod Stewart: The British singer and producer has sold the rights to his music for almost $100 million. And he’s not the first with this plan.
Stewart has had numerous hits over the past few decades such as “Maggie May”, “I Am Sailing” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”. Trading in music rights has developed into a huge market in recent years. Important artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young received huge sums of money for their song rights.
Song rights as a sensible investment
Most recently, almost a week ago, reports about the acquisition of around half of Michael Jackson’s recordings and song rights by the entertainment group Sony caused a stir. The New York Times reported, citing informed sources, that the value of Jackson’s entire work was $1.2 billion or more. The website “Billboard” concluded that Sony paid at least $600 for the portion of the “King of Pop’s” works.
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Investors value song rights as a worthwhile long-term investment in the age of music streaming. The rights holders receive royalties when the songs are played on the radio or on streaming platforms, from record sales and when the music is used in advertising and films.