The late Christine McVie’s estate has sold the rights to her music – including her shares in Fleetwood Mac hits – to an acquisition firm.
Singer McVie, who performed with the band from 1970 to 1998 and was responsible for hit including “Everywhere” and “Little Lies”, died in November 2022 aged 79 of an ischemic stroke.
On Thursday (26 October), it was announced that the rights to McVie’s music had been sold by her estate to assessment management company HarbourView Equity Partners for an undisclosed sum.
The sale includes shares in Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits, such as “Go Your Own Way”, “Landslide”, “The Chain” and “Dreams”. It also covers her solo albums: Christine Perfect (1970), Christine McVie (1984), and In the Meantime (2004).
Harbourview’s chief executive Sherrese Clarke Soares said: “Christine’s remarkable talents played an integral role in shaping Fleetwood Mac’s sound. The band’s timeless music and worldwide influence continues to captivate all generations of listeners today.
“We are honoured to uphold that legacy as we welcome Christine’s lifetime of work with the band into HarbourView. Christine is a decorated and iconic legend in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. She is a global treasure. We hold her works with pride.”
This isn’t the first time that the rights to Fleetwood Mac’s music has been put up for sale. In 2021, Mick Fleetwood sold his interests in the band’s recordings in a sale to Germany-based music publishers BMG. The deal included royalty interests in more than 300 songs, and covered his personal interests in all of the band’s recorded work apart from their first two albums.
McVie (left) on stage with Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac in 2018— (Getty Images)
The band were originally formed in 1967, with British singer McVie joining in 1970. In 2014, McVie returned to the band and performed on stage with Fleetwood Mac.
Following her death, Fleetwood was asked if the group would continued, and replied: “I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris. I’d say we’re done, but then we’ve all said that before. It’s sort of unthinkable right now.”
Stevie Nicks echoed this sentiment earlier this month, saying: “I felt like you can’t replace her. You just can’t. Without her, what is it? You know what I mean? She was like my soul mate, my musical soulmate, and my best friend that I spent more time with than any of my other best friends outside of Fleetwood Mac.
“Christine was my best friend… We were on our own in that band. We always were. We protected each other… Who am I going to look over to on the right and have them not be there behind that Hammond organ? When she died, I figured we really can’t go any further with this. There’s no reason to.”
