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David Bowie Song Catalogue Publishing Rights Sold For $250 Million

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The publishing rights to David Bowie’s extensive and iconic catalogue of songs have been sold by his estate to Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the publishing arm of Warner Music Group. According to an anonymous source, the deal is worth at least $250 million. 

Guy Moot, chief executive of WCM, said: “These are not only extraordinary songs, but milestones that have changed the course of modern music for ever … We are looking forward to tending his unparalleled body of songs with passion and care as we strive to build on the legacy of this most extraordinary human being.”

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The deal itself means that Warner now owns all the rights to Bowie’s songwriting itself, as well as almost all of the recordings of it. In September of this year, Warner completed a deal to acquire Bowie’s recordings and songs from 2000 to 2016 when he passed away. 

Warner already owned all of Bowie’s recordings that were done between 1968 to 1999. There is now just a small number of recorded music that Bowie recorded before the late 60’s that Warner Music does not own. 

Warner Music has been repackaging Bowie’s back catalogue in a series of box sets in recent years, which happens fairly often when an older musical legend’s discography is purchased by a larger label. 

Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Fleetwood Mac are some other musical legends who have sold the catalogues of their music to various companies as a means of earning more money in exchange for the rights. 

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These deals and acquisitions allow publishing companies to acquire income from royalties, as well as when music is licensed for use in films, TV, and advertising as well. 

The specific terms of the Bowie deal have not been disclosed to the public, however, the Bowie estate in the past has been known for closely controlling the use of his music. The 2020 David Bowie biopic, Stardust, which was about the creation of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona, was forbidden by the estate from using any of Bowie’s music in the film. 

WCM co-chair Carianne Marshall said: “We were pleased that the estate felt that Warner Chappell has the knowledge, experience, and resources to take the reins and continue to promote a collection of this stature. All of our global leaders and departments are incredibly excited and primed to get to work with these brilliant songs across multiple avenues and platforms.”

Another film has already been approved by the estate, and will be a documentary by Brett Morgan, who is using thousands of hours of rare and unseen live performance footage.

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Radiohead Launches Digital “Public Library” to Chronicle Band’s History

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Radiohead is perhaps one of the world’s most influential rock bands of all time, as its groundbreaking records like “OK Computer,” “Kid A,” and “In Rainbows” have revolutionized not just the genre of alternative rock but also the way music is distributed and consumed. For years, however, the website radiohead.com has been relatively barren, including only links to buy records, merchandise, and concert tickets. The band has decided to change that by launching the “Radiohead Public Library,” which chronicles the band’s history by presenting a collage of various projects the band has worked on as well as documents relating to these projects, including promotional materials, recordings of concerts, and more. The website functions not only as a historical archive, but as a method for fans of the band to offer their support by purchasing music or merchandise, as many of the items presented on the “public library” contain links to online stores.

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Much of the content provided on the “public library” contains artwork produced by Stanley Donwood, a longtime collaborator of the band who is known for his abstract, psychedelic artwork that has given the band’s album artwork its distinctive look. The artwork for the “King of Limbs” record, for instance, depicts otherworldly ghostlike figures among a woodland backdrop, matching the album’s themes of nature and alienation, and the artwork for “OK Computer” depicts an abstract representation of a highway, corresponding with the record’s themes of modernity and transportation. While the “public library” offers visitors an opportunity to purchase music and merchandise, it also offers a lot of free content, including free streams of music and recordings of previous concerts. While the collection of content available on the digital library is expansive, it does not contain everything, as some limited-edition music releases as well as solo projects created by the band’s members are not included.

Radiohead is no stranger to unusual methods of distributing their content. “In Rainbows,” which came out in 2007 long before the advent of streaming services like Spotify, was released via a website that allowed customers to pay whatever they felt was appropriate, including nothing, in exchange for a link to download the songs. The band’s experiment ended up being tremendously successful, as “In Rainbows” became one of Radiohead’s most critically-acclaimed and financially successful albums. “The King of Limbs,” meanwhile, was offered in a unique “newspaper edition,” which included a CD, two vinyl records, and a newspaper included fictional and poetic news stories. While “The King of Limbs” was mostly well-received, this experimental distribution method proved to be less successful than the one pioneered for “In Rainbows.”

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Given the band’s decades-long history and the large number of albums they’ve released over the years, it’s no surprise that Radiohead is interested in taking a look back at their expansive career and sharing their history with fans. The “public library” also represents an economic opportunity for the band, as they are reissuing old t-shirts as well as other merchandise on their store. Given the band’s massive and enthusiastic fan base, this merchandise is likely to sell out quickly, so if you’re interested in picking up a Radiohead-themed t-shirt or hoodie, now is the time to do so.