Sir Rod Stewart is the latest artist to sell the rights to his catalog of songs.
The “Maggie May” hitmaker, 79, has teamed up with the Iconic Artists group for the sale, and the company — dedicated to preserving the legacies of iconic artists — wants to “develop and extend his six-decade musical legacy to new generations of fans,” a press release confirmed. received by PEOPLE.
Stewart sold his interests in his publishing catalog and recorded music, along with some rights to his name and likeness, to music mogul Irving Azoff’s Iconica for nearly $100 million, The Wall Street Journal he reported on Thursday. The company also raised $1 billion to invest in artists’ music assets.
Representatives for Stewart did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the value of the sale.
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Rod Stewart.
Stefan Hoederath/Getty Images
“This year marks my 60th year in the music industry. The timing is right and I feel fortunate to have found partners in Irving and his team at Iconic to whom I can entrust my life’s work and future musical legacy,” Stewart said of the sale.
“We are thrilled to welcome one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of our time, Rod Stewart, to the Iconic family,” added Azoff, President and CEO of Iconic. “Our new partnership with HPS gives us the resources and flexibility to put together hits like this and continue the success of our legendary artists and their legacies.”
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Stewart has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice and has had countless hits over the years including “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, “Sailing,” “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” “Hot Legs” and ” Have I told you recently that I love you”.
He had 16 Top 10 singles in the US, with Board ranking him as the 15th greatest artist of all time.
Meanwhile, Cher, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, Nat King Cole, Linda Ronstadt, are just some of the performers among Iconic’s stars.
Stewart’s sale comes after it was announced in September that Katy Perry had sold the rights to her songs and albums released between 2008 and 2020 to Litmus Music for a reported $225 million, Deadline and Board reported at the time.
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Katy Perry.
Gotham/WireImage
Rod Stewart and sons answer in traditional kilts for family photo: ‘Dedication to my wonderful Scottish father’
The deal included Perry’s five albums released through Capitol Records — in 2008 One of the Boysin 2010 A teenage dreamin 2013 Prismin 2017 Witness, and the 2020s Smile. It was announced that the album masters will continue to be owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol’s parent company, according to Music Business Worldwide.
Perry has released several major singles throughout her career, with seven of them reaching No. 1 Board Hot 100: “I Kissed a Girl,” “California Gurls,” “Firework,” “ET,” “Last Friday Night (TGIF),” “Part of Me,” “Roar” and “Dark Horse.”
Keith Urban, Benny Blanco and Justin Bieber are among the many major artists who have sold the rights to their music over the years.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education