Music artists are selling their catalogues

In recent months we have seen frequent news of artists selling their catalogs including Bob Dylan, John Legend, and most recently Sting. 

There are different types of copyrights, there is the composition copyright and there is the recording copyright. Commonly it is the artist who owns the composition copyright and the production company or record label owns the recording copyright. This has certain implications, the composition generates royalties to both parties and if someone wants to use a song for a movie or commercial they must have the approval of both the artist and the record label to obtain a license, this process can be laborious, time consuming and full of hassles.

What the artists are selling are their rights to the catalog, which means that by owning both copyrights, the companies have the possibility of making licensing and recording versions in a simpler way, plus the royalties for streaming go to them. 

And that is the reason why large music companies are interested in these catalogs, seeing that streaming services and content creation is booming, having both copyrights gives them flexibility to explore markets with which we see that the value of these copyrights has increased to very high figures.

From the artist's point of view, we have observed that most of them are artists who have a career of many years and are no longer present on the stage, for them to sell is to cash a large sum of money (which can be invested and inherited) a complex system of copyrights. Adding that it is an opportunity for the musical legacy to last longer in the hands of these big companies. 

"It is absolutely essential to me that my career's body of work have a home where it is valued and respected - not only to connect with long-time fans in new ways but also to introduce my songs to new audiences, musicians and generations". - Sting

"I'm satisfied that all my recordings remain where they belong." -Bob Dylan

In closing we leave you with a listing of some catalog sales: