Katy Perry Just Got a Whole Lot Richer — Inside Her Latest Business Deal

Katy Perry just got a whole lot richer off of her latest business deal. HypeBeast recently reported that the singer sold her personal stakes in the master recordings and publishing rights for five albums to the Carlyle-backed group Litmus Music. The albums are the ones she released through Capitol Records between 2008 and 2020: One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, Prism, Witness, and Smile. This includes songs such as “Firework” and “Roar.” Perry banked $225 million on the deal.

While Perry has sold her portion of the rights, Universal Music Group will continue to own the masters of all the aforementioned albums. In a statement on the acquisition, Carlyle Managing Director Matt Settle said, “We believe this is a testament to the team’s ability to partner with the world’s top artists. Katy’s iconic songs have not only achieved outstanding commercial success but have significantly influenced popular culture.” CEO and co-founder of Litmus Music Hank Forsyth added, “Katy’s songs are an essential part of the global cultural fabric. We are so grateful to be working together again with such a trusted partner whose integrity shines in everything that she does.”

The past few years, there have been a number of big music artists who have sold off their music rights. In 2021, Bruce Springsteen sold his entire music catalog to Sony, and reportedly earned a massive sum in the deal. At the time, CBS News reported that The Boss and Sony Music Entertainment closed a deal where he would walk away with more than $500 million, and the company would own all of his songs, including hits like “Born in the USA” and “Dancing in the Dark.” The news outlet reported that if all the reported details are accurate, this would be the biggest transaction ever made for the sale of a single artist’s catalog of work, which also includes songs Springsteen wrote but did not necessarily record himself.

In May, ABC News reported on major music artists selling off their music rights and what was leading to the big movement. Variety music editor Jem Aswad spoke with the outlet about why this has been happening so much lately and explained, “Artists, creators, owners of the copyrights can slice and dice these catalogs in a million different ways. Sometimes they’ll just sell the publishing. Sometimes they’ll just sell the recorded music rights.”

“Music catalogs are a very complicated asset. The value changes all the time. It fluctuates,” Aswad said, later noting that an artist like Taylor Swift stands out because she had her music rights sold out from under her, prompting her to re-record all the albums she lost rights for. “She’s sort of the rising tide lifts all boats because, yes, all of this was in her self-interest,” Aswad said. “But she has educated countless musicians and countless fans about the value of owning your own creative work.”