The word is out that hip-hop music artist Future has sold his publishing catalog of music from 2004 to 2020 to an investment firm. The new owners of his music are a company called Media Partners and they cut him an eight-figure check to become the new owners.
As of February 2022, Influence Media had spent $300 million purchasing publishing rights to songs by Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, and Justin Bieber. That month they received additional investment from Warner Music Group and BlackRock, an institutional investment firm that has drawn criticism for anti-competitive practices. In March, Influence Media bought the entirety of reggaetón heavyweight Tainy’s catalog, which includes songs by Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Kali Uchis.
A few reasons artists sell their catalogs is not limited to the large sums acquired. While investors and music publishers will buy for 30 times the average annual royalties, another benefit for selling includes cementing their legacies while music becomes more valuable in the streaming era.
Upcoming for rapper and singer, Future, he will be headlining Rolling Loud New York this weekend (September 25) and promoting the album he released in May called “I Never Liked You”.