List of largest music deals

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The following is a list of the largest music deals in history signed by artists, including recording contracts and multi-rights agreements with over US$50 million, as well catalog acquisitions with a reported sum of over US$150 million.[a] Some figures might not be entirely accurate, as some multi-million-dollar contracts were reportedly misrepresented or exaggerated,[1][2][3] and others were media estimations. Therefore, no rankings are given.

Michael Jackson (left), Janet Jackson (center), and Madonna (right) are the only artists to appear twice, with Michael's Estate further making multiple multi-million-sized posthumous deals

The Rolling Stones' 1971 deal with Atlantic Records represented "a new benchmark in industry contracts", according to Billboard, becoming the largest contract ever made by that point.[4] Shortly after the 1970s saw a rise in millionarie recording contracts: Neil Diamond signed a $4–5 million deal with Columbia Records in 1972, which was later superseded in 1974 by Paul McCartney's Capitol Records and Elton John's MCA Records deals of $8 million each, as well as Stevie Wonder's 1975 deal with Motown valued at $13 million,[b] reaching a new peak in the industry.[6][7] The 1980s saw more contracts of eight figures, including record-breaking Diana Ross' $20 million contract with RCA Records in 1980,[8] or the Rolling Stones with CBS Records for $28 million in 1983.[9] An increase of blockbuster deals began in the 1990s, with top-signing artists such as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince each exceeding the $40–60 million marks,[10][11] making multiple appearances in the Guinness World Records.[12] Up until 2016, only a few recording and multi-rights contracts outpaced the $100 million mark.[13]

The largest music deals belong to catalog acquisitions which include songwriting and publishing rights, with an increase in the late 2010s and early 2020s.[14][15] The Estate of Michael Jackson made the largest recording deal, for a $250 million contract starting in 2010, and renewed in 2018 for the same amount,[13][16] while Sony Music acquired the Queen catalog and a number of other rights, excluding touring revenue, for $1.27 billion, the largest sum ever paid for an artist's body of work.[17][18]

Various multi-million-sized music deals raised skepticism and been overall criticized in corporate terms for bi-directional disadvantages,[c] including Prince's 1992 contract with Warner Bros deriving a contractual dispute.[19] On that year, 1992, an editor from Telegraph Herald was critical of blockbuster deals by mainstream artists, commenting, "the goal wasn't to improve the music, it was to generate the most hype".[24] Referred by a contributor from Forbes to as "the best-known and most-cited example" among misadventured contracts,[13] Mariah Carey's 2001 deal with Virgin Records marked "the first time that a major music corporation decided to cut its losses on a superstar agreement", according to The New York Times.[25]

Legend

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Posthumous deal
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List of largest recording contracts and multi-right deals

More information Year, Artist ...
Year Artist Music company Approx deal Notes Ref.
2022 Drake Universal Music Group $400 million [26]
2017 Michael Jackson (Estate) Sony $250 million The Estate of Michael Jackson extended the 2010 deal for an additional 7 years, effective January 2018 onwards. [27]
2010 Michael Jackson (Estate) Sony $250 million Reportedly the largest recording deal; The Estate of Michael Jackson signed a $250 million contract with Sony Music, spanning 2010-2017. [28]
1993 U2 Island Records $200 million [2]
2008 Jay-Z Live Nation $150 million [29]
2012 Lil Wayne Cash Money Records $150 million [30]
2016 Adele Columbia Records $130 million Originally reported by British tabloid The Sun. Undisclosed amount according to others. [13][31][32]
2002 Robbie Williams EMI Records $125 million Labeled as the largest British record deal in history. [33]
2007 Madonna Live Nation $120 million Labeled as the largest contract deal in history by a female artist. [34][23][35]
1992 Prince Warner Bros $100 million Undisclosed price.[2] [19]
1995 Michael Jackson Sony Music $100 Million [36]
2001 Whitney Houston Arista Records $100 million Considered the largest contract in music at that point. [37]
2001 Mariah Carey Virgin Records $100–80 million Considered the largest contract in music at that point. [25][22][37]
2008 Shakira Live Nation $100–70 million [38][39]
1996 R.E.M. Warner Records $80 million Considered the largest contract made by a band and in music industry at that time. [40][10]
1996 Janet Jackson Virgin Records $80–70 million Considered the largest contract in music at that point. [41][10]
2016 Harry Styles Columbia Records $80 million Sum not confirmed. [42]
2008 Nickelback Live Nation $70–50 million [43]
1991 Michael Jackson Sony Music $65–60–50 million[d] Considered the largest contract in music at that point. [10][48][11][49]
1991 Paul McCartney Capitol Records $65 million [12]
1992 Madonna Warner Records $60–50 million Considered the largest contract in music for a female pop entertainer at that time. [10][11][50][24]
1992 Barbra Streisand Columbia Records $60–40 million [10][12]
1995 Metallica Elektra Records $60 million [10]
1999 Backstreet Boys Jive Records $60 million [51]
2022 YoungBoy Never Broke Again Motown $60 million [52][53]
1998 U2 PolyGram $50 million [54]
1991 Janet Jackson Virgin Records $50–40–32 million Considered the largest contract in music at that point. [55][56][57]
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List of largest music catalog acquisitions

More information Year, Artist ...
Year Artist Purchaser company Approx deal Notes Ref.
2024 Queen Sony Music Publishing $1.27 billion The deal comprises Queen's recorded music catalog and additional rights, including royalties from the film Bohemian Rhapsody, valued at US$1.27 billion, the largest sum ever paid for an artist's body of work, excluding touring revenue. [58][59]
2016 Michael Jackson (Estate) $750 million Michael Jackson's estate has sold his 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which includes the music catalogues of several artists, notably the Beatles. [60]
2024 Michael Jackson (Estate) Sony Music $600 million 50% acquisition. Considered the biggest transaction ever struck for half of a single artist's body of work. This puts total value of rights at $1.2 billion. [61][62]
2021 Bruce Springsteen Sony Music $550–500 million [63][64]
2020 Pink Floyd Sony Music $400 million The deal includes Pink Floyd's recorded music catalog, as well as their name, image, and likeness rights, but excludes music publishing assets [65]
2020 Bob Dylan Universal Music Group $400–300 million Undisclosed price. It is a songwriting catalog agreement. [66][67]
2022 Phil Collins
Genesis		 Concord Music Group $300 million [67]
2021 Sting Universal Music Publishing Group $300 million [67]
2018 Michael Jackson (Estate) Sony $287 million Michael Jackson's estate sold its 10% stake in EMI Music Publishing to Sony. [68]
2021 Paul Simon Sony Music Publishing $250 million [69]
2022 David Bowie Warner Chappell Music $250 million [67]
2023 Katy Perry Litmus Music $225 million [70]
2023 Justin Bieber Hipgnosis Songs Fund $200 million [69]
2021 Neil Young Hipgnosis Songs Fund $150 million [67]
2022 Bob Dylan Sony Music $150 million [67]
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See also

Cases

Notes

  1. [a]
    The list excludes sponsorship deals, broadcasting rights, assets, or other business ventures made by recording artists with enterprises outside of the industry
  2. [b]
    Also reported for an amount of $37 million.[5]
  3. [c]
    Examples: [19][20][13][21][22][23]
  4. [d]
    Michael Jackson's 1991 deal with Sony largely vary by estimations. Established figures ranged from $50 million to 60 million and even $65 million. Originally, the deal was even also estimated at $1 billion by early media speculations.[44][45][46][47]

References

External links

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