David Bowie’s vast and groundbreaking catalogue sold to Warner Music
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Sources have confirmed that David Bowie’s all-time classic music catalogue has been sold to Warner Chappell Music in a $250 million ($AU347 million) deal.
After months of negotiation, David Bowie’s estate finally agreed and sold the late rocker’s entire songwriting catalogue to the music industry giant.
The catalogue included iconic songs such as ‘Heroes’, 'Changes', 'Space Oddity', 'Fame', 'Let's Dance', 'Rebel Rebel, Golden Years, 'Ziggy Stardust', 'All the Young Dudes', and even Bowie’s incredibly powerful and poignant pop collaboration with Queen: ‘Under Pressure’.
David Bowie, pictured at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1983. Credit: Ralph Gatti/AFP via Getty Images.
On Monday, WCM co-chair and chief executive, Guy Moot, said, “These are not only extraordinary songs, but milestones that have changed the course of modern music forever. Bowie's vision and creative genius drove him to push the envelope, lyrically and musically — writing songs that challenged convention, changed the conversation, and have become part of the canon of global culture.”
“All of us at Warner Chappell are immensely proud that the David Bowie estate has chosen us to be the caretakers of one of the most ground-breaking, influential, and enduring catalogues in music history,” he added.
“We are looking forward to tending his unparalleled body of songs with passion and care as we strive to build on the legacy of this most extraordinary human being.”
Atty Allen Grubman, a representative from David Bowie Estate, also added: “We are truly gratified that David Bowie's body of music will now be in the capable hands of Warner Chappell Music Publishing. We are sure they will cherish it and take care of it with the greatest level of dignity.”
The multi-million dollar agreement with WCM gives them legal ownership rights to the twenty-six studio albums released during Bowie's lifetime, which include the posthumous studio album release, Toy, and the two studio albums from the British-American hard rock supergroup fronted by Bowie - Tin Machine.
At this point, the late artist’s vast music catalogue from 1968 to 2016 now belongs to the Warner company.
While the move of selling song catalogues may seem difficult for many songwriters, it actually makes perfect sense for older artists. In recent years, several artists such as Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen have sold all (or parts) of their catalogues.
In November, news outlets reported that another Bowie film is in the works. Documentary filmmaker Brett Morgan already got the go-signal from David Bowie Estate to use thousands of hours of never-before-seen performance footage as its basis.
David Bowie passed away due to cancer in 2016. He was hailed as a musical genius and one of the most extraordinary artists in the entire show industry. He would have been 75 years old on Saturday, January 10.
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