Queen.
Photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images
Time for the accountant to go ga ga: Queen has sold their music catalogue to Sony for $1.2 billion, making it the largest-ever sale in the history of such acquisitions. (For comparison, that’s more than the price of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan’s sales combined.) Variety reports that the deal is still in the process of closing — when it does, the company will own all of Queen’s recording and publishing rights for their endless string of stadium anthems, as well as name and likeness rights. This latter inclusion, a rarity, means Sony can pursue whatever creative pursuits with the Queen brand it deems fit, whether it’s a Sam Mendes–esque film universe or another jukebox musical. (Please don’t tell Rami Malek the news.) The band joins other rock elders who have cashed in on their catalogues in recent years, which, in addition to Springsteen and Dylan, includes Genesis, Neil Young, Sting, and Stevie Nicks. But none have cracked the billion threshold until now. That’s royalty for you.
