The writer of hits like “Maggie May” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” has sold his lyrics and music (as well as some rights to his name and image) to Irving Azoff’s Icon Artist Group, a recent band committed to “developing and expanding its legacy for a new generation of fans”.

Rod Stewart: Albums and number one songs

Rod Stewart, 79, has a six-decade career behind him with ten albums and 16 number one singles. “This year marks my 60th anniversary as a singer. It’s the right time to sell,” said the British rock and pop icon. Rod, famous for songs such as “Stay With Me”, “You Wear It Well” and “You’re in My Heart”, is about to release his 32nd album, entitled “Swing Fever” in tribute to big band era, while this summer he will give the final performance in a 13-year, 200-show residency at Caesars Palace Colosseum in Las Vegas.

Booming market for music catalogs

“I’ve been friends with Irving for a long time. We have mutual admiration and respect and I’m sure my music is safe with him,” the singer told the Wall Street Journal. Iconic, which recently received a billion-dollar injection of funding from HPS Investment Partners, has a respectable number of acquisitions in its catalog over the past three years. These include the Beach Boys, Cher, Joe Cocker, Nat King Cole, David Crosby, Dean Martin, Linda Ronstadt, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills.

The new announcement confirms that the music catalog market is hot again after a period in which transactions, also due to increased interest, appeared to have slowed down. A week ago, news broke that half of Michael Jackson’s catalog had changed hands: a deal worth around $600 million, which has to be the highest-value transaction in history for the work of a single musician. Meanwhile, rumors are growing of an imminent multi-billion dollar deal for Queen’s music.

Bruce Springteen king of the charts (so far)

The unofficial record for music catalogs so far has met Bruce Springsteen with about half a billion dollars, followed by Bob Dylan with 450 million which includes, in addition to music, the texts of the work of the Nobel laureate and the heirs of David Bowie ($250 million). Selling albums was once considered a mortal sin for a musician, but after Dylan (who kicked things off in 2020), other artists old and new have jumped on the bandwagon. Among these Justin Bieber who received 200 million in exchange, Shakira and Justin Timberlake.

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