Sony Music will buy the music catalog of the cult band Queen for about $1.27 billion.
Variety writes about it, citing two informed sources.
The deal is somewhat complicated, as Sony Music has been working on it for several years. The rights to distribute music in the US and Canada belong to Disney, and they will remain with the company forever, but Sony Music will receive royalties after signing the agreement. As Universal Music currently holds the rights to distribute Queen’s music in other parts of the world, they will be transferred to Sony Music in 2026 or 2027, making the corporation the sole distributor and owner of Queen’s content worldwide.
The deal also includes the rights to use the band’s name and logo, which opens up opportunities for merchandise and other projects. At the same time, the band’s members, Brian May and Roger Taylor, will retain the rights to live performances.
According to the publication, not only Sony Music claimed the catalog – another buyer offered $900 million for it.
Queen’s music catalog is one of the most valuable in the industry. It includes such songs as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Radio Ga Ga”, 39, “Somebody to Love” and “You’re My Best Friend”, as well as stadium songs “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”.
This is not the first catalog of musicians that Sony Music has acquired. In 2021, Bruce Springsteen sold his discography to the label for $500 million. Already in 2022, Sony Music bought the rights to Bob Dylan’s music, and in 2024 – half of Michael Jackson’s music catalog for more than $600 million.
