The artist released her most recent studio album in August 2020.
Photo: AFP – VALERIE MACON
The American singer Katy Perry sold the rights to almost all of her studio albums for US$225 million, with the exception of the first titled “Katy Hudson”, which was released in 2001. The five albums, which were published under the Capitol Records label between 2008 and 2020, were sold to the Litmus Music company, US media reported this Monday, September 18.
The new company that owns part of Perry’s repertoire did not make public the other financial details of the operation, but reported in a statement that the agreement included the pop star’s original recordings on those five albums and her publishing rights.
The albums that will now be exploited by Litmus Music, a music rights company within the global investment firm Carlyle Group, are: “One of the Boys” (2008), “Teenage Dream” (2010), “PRISM” ( 2013), “Witness” (2017) and “Smile” (2020). The Universal Music group will continue to be the owner of the masters of the five albums.
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The link between the “Roar” singer and Litmus Music confirms a rumor that had been growing in recent weeks within the industry due to the close professional relationship between the singer and Dan McCarroll, now co-founder and creative director of Litmus Music, since his previous stint as president of Capitol Records.
“I am very honored to partner with her again and to help Litmus manage her incredible repertoire. (..) She is a creative visionary who has had a major impact on music, television, film and philanthropy,” McCarroll said in the statement.
Also co-founder and CEO of Litmus Music, Hank Forsyth, described the agreement as “essential” because, in his view, Perry’s songs are already “part of the global cultural fabric.”
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Katy Perry is the first woman, and the second artist after Michael Jackson, who has managed to place five songs in the top Billboard history in the United States thanks, above all, to her great popularity during the past decade.
During the last few years, the creator of “California Gurls” preferred to focus on a series of permanent performances in Las Vegas, Nevada, on developing her philanthropic work with her foundation (Firework Foundation) and with Unicef, and on starting a family with her partner, actor Orlando Bloom.
The sale of Perry’s catalog joins other large operations undertaken in the sector this year, such as the acquisition of Justin Bieber’s musical rights by Hipgnosis Songs Capital or the purchase of Dr. Dre’s repertoire by Universal Music and Shamrock Holdings , both for US$200 million.
