It’s been reported that Britney Spears has sold her back catalogue to the music publisher Primary Wave.
The amount for is not yet known but sources have told the website TMZ that the figure is “in the ballpark” of the $200 million that Justin Bieber signed when he sold his music in a similar deal back in 2013.
Those same sources have said that Britney is “happy with the sale and has been celebrating by spending time with her kids.”
Primary Wave describe themselves as “the leading independent publisher of iconic and legendary music in the world” and certainly have an enviable portfolio of beloved artists in their collection.
Stevie Nicks sold her publishing rights to them back in 2020 and the company has also cut deals with the estates of Prince, Whitney Houston and Bob Marley.
The Britney catalogue contains five UK Number Ones and five US Number Ones apiece and nine studio albums. Whether or not it will ever be added to is uncertain. When in 2021 she was freed from the conservatorship originally put in place by her father in 2008, she vowed that she would never return to the music industry, something she reiterated in 2024.
The only recorded music she has released in the last decade has been a duet with Elton John on his Lockdown Sessions album and Mind Your Business, a 2023 collab with Will-i-am. She hasn’t performed live since her 2018 Piece Of Me tour.
However, she did post a message on Instagram last month, saying: “I will never perform in the U.S. again because of extremely sensitive reasons but I hope to be sitting on a stool with a red rose in my hair, in a bun, performing with my son… in the UK and AUSTRALIA very soon.
"He’s a huge star and I’m so humbled to be in his presence!!! God speed, little man!!!” Make of that what you will...
