The list of musicians who recently sold the exploitation rights to their music could grow in the coming weeks.
This time around, it's American rock icon Bruce Springsteen who could take the plunge, as
Billboard
reveals
.
Read also Bruce Springsteen, back to rock
According to an anonymous source quoted by the magazine, the transaction could be concluded for an amount estimated between 330 and 415 million dollars.
At stake, the publication rights of the music of the "Boss", but also his masters.
Real nerve of war for artists, masters are the original and final copies of a song or album, which allow editing, re-editing and remastering of a disc.
Many musicians do not have them, and are therefore unable to manage the exploitation of their work as they please.
This situation, for example, pushed Taylor Swift to re-record her entire catalog, to own her songs.
A practice that has become common
The transfer of exploitation rights to third parties has become commonplace since last year.
Between the loss of income linked to the cessation of concerts during the Covid-19 crisis, and the valuation of their works close to the summits, many musicians quickly made the calculations, and decided to sell part or all from their catalog.
Neil Young, Shakira, the Beach Boys, Stevie Nicks or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, all have made deals with investment companies or their record company for tens of millions of dollars.
The prize goes to Bob Dylan, who sold his catalog last year for $ 300 million.
See also Bob Dylan sells all of his songs to Universal Music
In the case of Bruce Springsteen, twenty studio albums are concerned, as well as seventeen live albums and compilations.
Since the start of his career in 1973, the New Jersey singer has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, including 65 million in the United States alone.
Rarely, he has known only one label during his five-decade career, Columbia Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music.
And it is precisely the American major which would be on the point of acquiring the catalog of the "
boss
".
Billboard
said the talks have been going on for months between the two parties, and that an increase in capital gains tax, planned by the Democratic government in the coming months, encourages musicians to sell quickly.