David Bowie’s Estate Sells His Catalog To Warner Chappell For $250 Million
In the past few years, we’ve seen a number of iconic stars, including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, selling off their catalogs to publishing companies for vast sums of money. The latest canonical figure to cash in is David Bowie. Bowie, of course, is no longer alive; he died of cancer almost exactly six years ago. But Bowie’s estate has now sold his catalog to Warner Chappell Music for a hefty sum.
According to Variety, Bowie’s estate, after long negotiations, sold his catalog to Warner Chappell for “upwards of $250 million” — a big number that’s still only half of what Springsteen’s catalog cost. Last year, Warner Music announced that it was bringing all of Bowie’s albums under the Warner umbrella, including the ones that were originally released on Sony Music. The news comes in advance of this coming weekend’s Bowie 75 celebration. Bowie would’ve turned 75 this coming Saturday, and his estate has planned pop-up stores in New York and London, among other events.
Warner Chappell has recently made publishing deals with artists like Quincy Jones, Bruno Mars, and Cardi B, as well as the estate of George Michael.