Why Music's Biggest Names Are Selling Their Catalogs (Episode 157)

Make Music Your Business.

Why are some of the biggest names in music selling their catalogs? In Episode 157 of The Career Musician, Nomad and Lola dig into the wave of multi-million dollar catalog deals and what it means for you, the working musician, when it comes to selling music publishing rights and owning your IP.

The short version: intellectual property is where the long-term money lives. The rest of the episode is about why that matters even if you think of yourself as "just" a player.

The catalog gold rush

The table runs through the headline sales they had been tracking: Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Dr. Dre, Justin Bieber, Phil Collins, and a stake in Michael Jackson's catalog, with prices in the hundreds of millions. Lola even did the math on Bieber's deal as reported: about 290 songs for around $200 million, or roughly $690,000 per song.

For older artists, the table agrees, it makes sense. It turns songs into generational wealth for their families. But for a young artist, selling all of your rights that early raises a real question. That is where the money is held.

Publishing versus masters, in plain English

The episode breaks down the basics. Publishing rights usually sit with publishers. Master recording rights, the actual sound recording, belong to the label and the performer. Everybody has a piece of the pie. Buyers like Hipgnosis and Primary Wave acquire those rights so they can collect the royalties, licensing and brand deal income that used to go to the artist.

Why sell? The offers are hard to turn down. The table also points to a tax angle: a change to the law lets musical assets be treated as capital assets, taxed at capital gains rates rather than as ordinary income. And one argument for a sale is that an artist has already earned most of what those songs will earn, so the lump sum is like getting paid twice.

"We're making something out of nothing, out of pure air. We've created something and it becomes valuable."

The table, 4:28

Why older songs earn less, and why that matters

One point every songwriter should hear: typically, the older a song gets, the less it gets played and the less it earns, unless it gets synced. And classic catalogs charge a lot for sync, so a music supervisor on a budget often goes with newer material instead. Fresh music has an opening.

The table also reminds you how royalties kept many musicians afloat when the pandemic shut everything down. When nothing else was coming in, the IP was.

Create as much IP as you can

This is the lesson for you. Guitar player, drummer, keyboard player, it doesn't matter. Create as much music as you can, get it published, and get it out on as many platforms as possible so it can earn for the long haul.

"You have to create as much music as you can, as much IP, and get it out there... so that way you can generate income from that for the long haul."

Nomad, 7:24

Lola points out that people have sought Nomad out through his sample loop libraries, and that she found a second calling in hosting. Don't close yourself off to opportunities that build on your talents. That is The Biz pillar in a sentence: diversify or die.

The takeaway

Big stars can sell their catalogs because they own them. Start building yours now, protect it, and diversify how your music earns. For more on the career side nobody taught you, grab the free Get the Gig guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.