The world-famous songs of the British music group Queen, of which Freddie Mercury was the lead singer, were sold at a record price. The music archive containing the songs of the famous rock band was sold to Sony for 1 billion pounds sterling (approximately 1.2 billion dollars).
According to Variety, Sony Music signed a historic deal by owning Queen's music catalogue, which includes Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Radio Ga Ga" and many other hit songs.
The only revenue not covered by the deal will be live performances, and founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor, who are still actively touring with singer Adam Lambert, will retain that revenue.
Two sources confirmed to Variety that the Queen music catalogue is in the process of being acquired by Sony Music for £1 billion, along with some other rights.
Music catalogues are seen as attractive investments because the music can be used in films for years, played on the radio or used in advertising, all of which provide royalties to the rights holders.
In 2021, Bruce Springsteen sold his music rights for $500 million.
HALF OF JACKSON'S MUSIC CATALOGUE SOLD FOR RECORD PRICE
On the other hand, a significant portion of the music catalogue of the "King of Pop" Michael Jackson has been sold in recent months. Sony bought half of Jackson's music catalogue for $1.2 billion or more.
ABOUT THE GROUP
Queen was originally formed in London in 1970 by May and Taylor, who had previously played together in a band called Smile; they were joined by Freddie Mercury on vocals and piano and John Deacon on bass the following year.
Several record labels initially negotiated with the band before a deal with EMI was finalised. The label released Queen's self-titled debut album in 1973, which included "Keep Yourself Alive" and all subsequent studio albums (except Disney, released in the US and Canada).
While the band had big hits in the UK with the singles "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "Killer Queen", their worldwide recognition came in 1975 with the Mercury-penned "Bohemian Rhapsody". The band quickly became one of the biggest bands in the world.
