Bruce Springsteen sold his catalogues to Sony in 2021 in largest single-artist catalogue deal

Sony confirmed the sale in a statement after Billboard first reported it. The statement described two separate agreements covering Springsteen's work at Columbia Records as a singer and as a songwriter. Investment firm Eldridge Industries partnered with Sony on the songwriting catalogue purchase.

What Sony bought

The package gave Sony ownership of "Born to Run" and other songs, including "Born in the U.S.A.," "Blinded by the Light," "Thunder Road," "Dancing in the Dark" and "Streets of Philadelphia." Billboard reported the deal covers about 300 songs, 20 studio albums and 23 live LPs. WION, citing Billboard, said the catalogue includes the 15-times platinum "Born in the U.S.A." and the five-times platinum "The River."

Springsteen first signed with Columbia Records, a Sony unit, in 1972 and stayed with the label for five decades. "I am one artist who can truly say that when I signed with Columbia Records in 1972, I came to the right place," Springsteen said in Sony's statement. "During the last 50 years, the men and women of Sony Music have treated me with the greatest respect as an artist and as a person. I'm thrilled that my legacy will continue to be cared for by the company and people I know and trust."

Parade reported Columbia Records gave Springsteen all his album masters in the late 1980s or early 1990s to keep him from leaving during contract renegotiations. Before the sale, he controlled the rights to his recordings. He owned the copyrights to his songwriting and acted as his own publisher. Since 2017, Universal administered his songwriting, The New York Times reported.

The price and the record

The sale closed in 2021. The New York Times, citing two people briefed on the deal, said its value may exceed $500 million and would be the largest ever transaction for a single artist's catalogue. Billboard put the publishing company's payment at $500 million. Neither Springsteen nor Sony has confirmed the exact figure.

The New York Times described the sale as the latest and biggest megadeal in a period when investors and music companies poured billions of dollars into song catalogues. Bob Dylan sold his songwriting to Universal Music Publishing Group in 2020; the New York Times estimated that deal at well over $300 million. Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, Shakira and Neil Young also sold all or parts of their work. Sony bought Queen's publishing and recording catalogues for $1.27 billion in 2024.

How Sony is marketing the catalogue

Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen, was released on Oct. 24. It focuses on 1982's Nebraska, not the most commercial album in the catalogue. Billboard reported that Sony sees the film as one of its most powerful ways to boost streaming and revenue.

"Films bring more awareness to the artist brand and fans to the funnel," said Monica Cornia, senior vice president of marketing and partnerships at Sony's Commercial Music Group. Cornia said White and Jeremy Strong would create a huge cultural moment. Strong plays manager Jon Landau, and Sony can use that moment as a starting point. She said the goal is to take advantage of the moment while continuing to market the catalogue and the artist.

A Sony representative said the Dylan and Elvis Presley biopics created a new baseline for streaming both artists' catalogues, with double-digit growth after release. Two months before Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen's catalogue streamed 15 million times a week. It spiked to nearly 62 million and settled at 38.2 million by the end of 2018, according to Luminate. After its November 2018 premiere, the film took more than $1 billion worldwide in box-office sales over five months. Dylan's catalogue drew 7.1 million weekly streams two months before A Complete Unknown, spiked to 19.5 million and dropped to 12 million in February, also according to Luminate.

The five-disc box set Nebraska '82: Expanded Edition, which includes Springsteen's long-awaited electric version of the album and a performance film, came out the same day as the film. "Everybody who's acquiring a catalog is looking for opportunities to find new audiences and tap into a fanbase that's already engaged," said Sophia Dilley, executive vice president of Concord Originals.

What the catalogue earns

Billboard estimated the album catalogue generated about $15 million in revenue in 2020 and the publishing catalogue about $7.5 million a year, as cited by Variety. WION reported that Springsteen has sold more than 150 million records worldwide and more than 64 million albums in the United States. At a Sony investor relations meeting in May, Rob Stringer, CEO of Sony Music, said the company had spent $1.4 billion on acquisitions in the previous six months.

The exact price remains undisclosed.