Pop Giant Katy Perry Sells Catalog for $225 Million
Little known fact: Katy Perry began her music career in 2001 with her given name, Katy Hudson, as a Christian artist. Today, her stage name is a staple in the pop music genre. Perry signed with Capitol Records in 2007 and two of the singles from her first major-record album were quintuple platinum certified by the RIAA. She holds the record for top over-5-million and over-6-million selling singles in the US.
On Monday, September 18, Litmus Music announced the finalization of a partnership worth $225 million with Katy Perry, covering all five of her albums released with Capital Records, from the span of 2008 to 2020. The deal means that Litmus now owns and manages Perry's stakes in master recordings and publishing rights to the albums, which include several record-breaking singles and other chart-topping hits such as Hot N Cold, California Gurls, Firework, E.T., and more.
Litmus Music is an assets company focused on acquiring and managing recordings and publishing rights. The company is backed by private equity giant the Carlyle Group and also recently acquired music rights from hit making songwriter and producer Benny Blanco earlier this year.
While it could take Litmus decades to see a total return of the $225 million they spent on this catalog by relying solely on licensing and publishing deals, there are other ways to leverage these assets. One way to do this would be through Symphony Markets, a broker between the rights holders and the public.