Sony is the undisclosed suitor that Queen was in an exclusive period with in negotiating the sale of its catalog and other music assets, as reported by Bloomberg today. There have been multiple reports that the catalog was up for sale since Music Business Worldwide first broke the news last May.
So far, Queen is believed to have had initial conversations about the potential deal with Disney, which owns the band’s masters for North America, and Universal Music Group. According to sources, the deal is being shopped by the band’s lawyers.
In fact, each band member was said to have their own lawyers for the deal; early this year, some sources suggested that John Deacon’s share of the band’s assets might not be included in any potential agreement. Putting a deal like this together is a very complex process and with all the personalities involved, it’s still a question of whether one will ultimately be struck. In fact, that very issue — band members with different agendas — is said to have derailed a deal for the Pink Floyd assets a while back. That deal was expected to go for $500 million before it collapsed sometime in 2022.
Sources previously told Billboard that Queen was seeking $1.2 billion for its music assets, a price tag that limited the number of prospective suitors. In order to swallow the hefty price tag, Sony is reportedly partnering with an undisclosed financial player. Previously, Sony had help in acquiring the Bruce Springsteen master recording catalog from Eldridge Industries, which at one time owned Billboard.
Queen’s lawyers and Sony Music representatives were not immediately available for comment.
The Queen catalog includes iconic hit songs such as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Somebody to Love,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “You’re My Best Friend, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Since 1991, the catalog has generated slightly more than 38 million album consumption units in the United States and has nearly 46 billion in global on-demand streams, according to Luminate. Go here for a full breakdown of the band’s catalog and financial performance.
If Sony completes the deal, it could very well be the biggest music asset deal ever made, even if it does not command the highest valuation for an artist’s music assets. Late last year, Sony bought half of the Michael Jackson estate for about $600 million, according to sources, though Sony never confirmed the acquisition.
