Britney Spears sells music catalogue rights for estimated $200 million: US media

Britney Spears has sold the rights to her extensive music catalogue in a deal reportedly worth around $200 million, becoming the latest high-profile artist to cash in on their songwriting legacy.

The agreement, first reported by celebrity news platform TMZ on Tuesday, sees the Grammy-winning singer part with publishing rights to her beloved back catalogue, which includes era-defining smashes such as “…Baby One More Time,” “Oops!…I Did It Again,” and “Toxic.” While sources close to the deal put the value at approximately $200 million, legal documents do not specify an exact figure, according to TMZ.

If confirmed, the sum would place Spears in a similar financial bracket to Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, who sold his catalogue in 2023 for a reported $200 million.

The 44-year-old joins a swelling roster of legacy and contemporary artists who have monetised their intellectual property in recent years. Industry heavyweights including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Shakira, and rock band KISS have all struck nine-figure deals, selling publishing or recorded rights — or both — to major investors.

US media reports indicate that the buyer is Primary Wave, a New York-based independent music publisher known for acquiring stakes in the estates and catalogues of late icons such as Whitney Houston, Bob Marley, Prince, as well as living artists like Stevie Nicks and Paul Rodgers.

Owning a song’s publishing rights grants the holder income from virtually every public use of the composition: radio and streaming plays, physical and digital sales, sync placements in film and advertising, and more. In the streaming era, catalogues have proven resilient, recession-proof assets — attractive to both specialist firms and traditional major labels.

Major players including Sony, Universal, and Warner have aggressively expanded their catalogue acquisition divisions, joining specialist investment funds and independent publishers like Recognition Music Group and Concord Music Publishing in a fast-moving, multi-billion-dollar market.

Spears rose to global superstardom in the late 1990s, becoming one of the best-selling female artists of all time. Though she has largely retreated from the recording studio and live performance in recent years, her cultural footprint remains significant.

The deal arrives less than four years after a Los Angeles court terminated the controversial 13-year conservatorship that had placed Spears’s personal estate and career decisions under the control of her father, Jamie Spears. In explosive testimony in 2021, the singer condemned the arrangement as “abusive” and expressed her desire to reclaim agency over both her life and artistic work. The sale of her catalogue rights — a move long rumoured among industry insiders — is now seen by many as a final step in that reclamation of autonomy.

 

 

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