British rocker Rod Stewart, known for hits like “Maggie May,” has sold the publishing and recording rights to his catalog for nearly $100 million, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
According to the American business newspaper, businessman Irving Azoff's company Iconic Artists Group acquired the rights to Stewart's catalog as well as certain rights to his name and image for this amount.
The information was revealed less than a week after Sony announced a sweeping deal to acquire half of the recording and publishing rights to Michael Jackson's catalog from his heirs.
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The New York Times estimated the value of the Thriller singer's catalog at $1.2 billion or more, and according to the Billboard website, Sony paid at least $600 million.
In recent years, music rights have become a thriving market following a wave of sales that allowed artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young to make money from their catalogs.
The latter represent interesting and long-term assets for investors in the streaming age.
Owners of the publishing rights to a song receive financial compensation for each broadcast, album sale or use in advertising and films. The right of registration regulates the reproduction and distribution of works.