Bruce Springsteen has become the latest superstar musician to cash in on his master recordings and publishing rights.
The 72-year-old singer/songwriter has sold his life’s work to Sony for a reported $500 million (£376 million). In doing so, the New Jersey-born artist has followed in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Blondie, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, David Crosby and more, all of who have given up their publishing in the past couple of years.
Springsteen’s catalogue has sold 65.5 million copies in the US alone, and his music is reported to generate revenues of around $15 million per year.
The BBC reports that, at an investor relations meeting in May, Sony Music's chief executive, Rob Stringer, revealed that the company had spent $1.4bn in acquisitions over the previous six months, which included a multi-million dollar deal to obtain the rights to Paul Simon's back catalogue. If the figures reported by Billboard are accurate, Springsteen's deal would be the most expensive so far, but neither Sony nor Springsteen have made any public comment on reports of the sale.
Springsteen’s most recent studio album, Letter To You, was released in October 2020.
