Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Red Hot Chili Peppers sell recorded music catalogue to Warner Music Group in deal worth more than $300 million
Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold their recorded music catalogue to Warner Music Group in a deal reported to be worth more than $300 million.
Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold their recorded music catalogue to Warner Music Group in a deal worth more than $300 million, according to reports.
The sale gives Warner control of the band’s master recordings. The group have been signed to the label since Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991, and the new arrangement means Warner will now collect future income from streaming, radio play, sales and licensing.
The move follows an earlier transaction with Hipgnosis, now operating as Recognition Music Group, in which the band sold the publishing rights to their music for a reported $140 million.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that the latest purchase has been financed through a joint venture between Warner Music Group and Bain Capital. Bain launched a $1.2 billion fund last year aimed at acquiring high-profile music catalogues.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers catalogue is believed to generate around $26 million a year. Until now, those rights had remained under the control of the band members.
The group’s two 2022 studio albums, Unlimited Love and Return Of The Dream Canteen, both performed strongly commercially, reaching the top three in the US and UK albums charts.
Music catalogue sales have become routine for major artists in recent years. In 2021, Bruce Springsteen signed a deal worth about $500 million for his entire music library. Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Deftones and Jack White have also completed similar deals.
More recently, Slipknot sold their catalogue to HarbourView Equity Partners for $120 million. Other major catalogues to change hands include Pink Floyd for $400 million, along with Queen, KISS, Britney Spears and Tame Impala.
In related news, the Netflix documentary The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel premiered last month. The film focuses on the band’s early history, with particular attention on first guitarist Hillel Slovak.
Although the band were interviewed for the documentary, they also made clear that they wanted distance from the project. Even so, Flea praised it, calling it “a beautifully made film” that “filled my heart right to the top, not without a good dose of lifelong melancholy”.
Frontman Anthony Kiedis’ girlfriend Eileen Kelly recently wrote about the benefits of their age-gap relationship, calling him “one lucky bastard”.
