Sony Music is reportedly in talks to acquire the records of iconic British rock singer Queen.
This is based on BloombergThe newspaper published an article on Wednesday (May 29), quoting sources as saying that Sony is currently “working with another investor” on a deal that “could total $1 billion.”
Bloomberg It added that negotiations were “ongoing and may not result in a deal” but potential deals would include “merchandise sales and other business opportunities”.
Queen’s catalog includes such killer queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, another one that has settled down There are a lot more.
It comes a year after news broke that Sony was reportedly in talks to acquire the Queen catalog global music business Breaking news (May 2023) Queen’s representatives and certain companies are in discussions about potential collaborations Over $1 trillion Catalog sales.
As we reported, the catalog combines publishing rights with recorded music rights, all owned by the band’s surviving “classic” line-up (Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon), as well as Freddie Mercury The inheritance is owned jointly and equally.
Major music companies, including Universal Music Group, as well as private equity groups have been discussing a sale, sources told us at the time.
We noted in last year’s report that any potential deal would be complicated by the fact that: disney music group (through its ownership of Hollywood Records) owns the rights to Queen’s recorded music in North America; the band owns them elsewhere in the world. (DMG has a global distribution deal with Universal Music Group.)
Queen members Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon – plus the Freddie Mercury estate – each own equal shares in the company Queen Productions Ltd.which owns the band’s discography outside the United States and Canada.
The members of Queen (plus Mercury’s estate) also hold worldwide rights to Queen’s music publishing catalog through their companies queen music ltd.managed by Sony Music Publishing.
Queen Productions Ltd publishes its annual financial report at Companies House. The latest release was in June 2023, showing the company’s financial performance for fiscal 2022, which ended in September of that year.
According to Queen Productions Ltd.’s latest annual report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, the band’s revenue £40.89 million (US$50.41 million Calculated based on the average annual IRS rate).
That’s an increase 4.3% Starting from fiscal year 2021, the turnover will be £39.19 million (see below).
(In U.S. dollars, this means $53.9 millionas the pound strengthened against the dollar that year.
The financial report also shows that the company’s pre-tax profit was £22.16 million ($27.41 million), up Annual increase of 31.6%from £16.84 million (US$23.17 million) in fiscal year 2021.
Data shows Queen’s popularity increased after 2018 bohemian rhapsody Biopics have a long tail.
Before the buzz surrounding the company began, the company’s revenue in fiscal 2022 was more than triple that in fiscal 2016 bohemian rhapsody Movie. In that year, the company’s turnover was £12.34 million (US$16.72 million at 2016 exchange rates).
As we noted in our report last year, if the deal closes, it would be one of the largest sales of a single artist’s music catalog in history, easily surpassing the $5 million Sony Music Group paid for Bruce Springsteen’s recorded music and recordings. More than 100 million US dollars.
(For the Springsteen publishing portion of the deal, Sony’s offer was funded in part by Eldridge Industries.)
In February, advertising billboard Sony Music Group has reportedly acquired half of Michael Jackson’s estate from his estate for at least $600 million.
Sony Music also fully acquired Bob Dylan’s recorded music catalog in 2022.global music business
