00:00Now, Britney Spears has reportedly sold the rights to her entire music catalogue.
00:06Some sources say the star was paid a ballpark of $200 million.
00:11Now, the 44-year-old is one of the most successful pop artists of all time,
00:15known for songs like Hit Me Baby One More Time and Oops I Did It Again.
00:19To talk a bit more about this deal, Karis Garland from our news desk is with me.
00:24Hi, Karis.
00:25Hi, Nadia.
00:25Look, what do we know then about what's been agreed?
00:27Well, just to tell you what this actually means first, when artists make this kind of deal,
00:32it means that they're selling the rights to their songs, including royalties that are paid when their music is consumed
00:39or used.
00:40Some of these contracts also include royalties that artists make when they perform and any songwriting rights.
00:47So far, though, spokespeople for Britney Spears and the company reported to have acquired these rights haven't commented on the
00:54deal.
00:55Entertainment news website TMZ was the first to report the news, saying that they obtained legal documents showing that Spears
01:02had sold her ownership share to Primary Wave.
01:06That's a music publisher.
01:07But there was no mention in those documents, apparently, of the price that was paid, nor what kinds of rights
01:13had been bought,
01:14just saying that Spears had signed these documents on December 30, though other media outlets have reported that sources say
01:21that she was paid in the ballpark of $200 million.
01:26Now, Britney Spears, of course, has sold nearly 150 million records worldwide.
01:32Her catalogue includes nine studio albums since her debut in 1999.
01:37Now, in case anyone's been living under a rock since then, here's a reminder of some of her hits.
01:57Now, unfortunately, perhaps that is probably the last of Britney we're going to hear in the music world in 2024.
02:02She disputed rumours that she was working on a new album, writing on her Instagram that she would never return
02:10to the music industry.
02:11And last month, she wrote on her Instagram there that I will never perform in the US again because of
02:16extremely sensitive reasons.
02:18But she did tease a desire to take to the stage overseas with one of her sons.
02:23The last few years have been full of ups and downs for Britney Spears.
02:27In 2021, she ended a nearly 14 year conservatorship, which in which her father had control over her financial and
02:37personal life.
02:38And she's also detailed struggles living under that conservatorship in a 2023 memoir, saying that her family mistreated her.
02:47She's also been through another marriage and another divorce as well.
02:50And look, on this question of selling the rights to her music, it's worth emphasising, though,
02:55that Britney's not the only artist to have done it.
02:58No, and there have been many high profile artists that have sold their catalogues recently.
03:04They include Bruce Springsteen, who sold his music rights to Sony in 2021, reportedly for $500 million.
03:13Justin Timberlake as well.
03:15That was a few years ago.
03:16Sources said for just over $100 million.
03:18And Shakira made a deal with Hypnosis in 2021 for an undisclosed sum.
03:25And then we have Justin Bieber as well, who sold his catalogue for $200 million.
03:30TMZ reported later that this was because he was, quote, on the verge of financial collapse.
03:36So, of course, the advantages of doing this means that income does not depend on the popularity of the songs,
03:45the titles over time or on potential future crises in the music industry.
03:50Of course, upfront payment could be lower than long term gains for this music.
03:56But, you know, selling these catalogues also means that the artists don't have control over their work and how it's
04:03used.
04:04For example, a buyer might use, license the work for commercial purposes that the artist might not agree with.
04:12So, you know, there's also good and bad times to sell.
04:15We think about the pandemic, the COVID pandemic, when artists lost income because of the tours that they had to
04:21cancel.
04:21So, you know, it's something that you have to weigh up.
04:25But many artists are also buying back their catalogues.
04:29Jay-Z, Dua Lipa and Rihanna have done it.
04:32And notably, Taylor Swift, after a disagreement with her record label, she re-recorded her first six albums and became
04:40the owner of her new versions, which actually quickly became more popular than the old ones.
04:46And then she also successfully brought back the old versions, those original master recordings.
04:53So Taylor Swift's battle has probably, you know, inspired or at least prompted artists to think a little bit more
04:59about how they handle the ownership of their music.
05:02All right.
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