Selling to the Devil: Neil Diamond Joins Roster of Selling Entire Catalogue to Universal

MONDAY NEWS: 2022 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for catalog acquisitions.

Shortly after a mere two weeks where Sting sold his whole catalogue to Universal’s publishing division for a brazen amount just shy of $300 million, fellow iconic singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has followed in Sting’s footsteps.

Like Sting, Diamond has seemingly had a moment where the Truth Hits Everybody and has realised that he just isn’t getting any younger.

The man behind many iconic soundtracks in culture, his work including Sweet Caroline and Red Red Wine, has charted a worthy music legacy resulting in 130 million albums sold in the last half century.

But as totals hot up with majors acquiring more and more stakes in music copyright, it begs the question: why are all the artists flipping?

Is it the ever-changing music industry causing unpredictable consequences or is it simply these established artists cementing their foundation – and ultimately securing their estate for generations to come?

What do you guys think? Why are all these artists selling over their catalogues to the titans of the industry? Is it a financial investment or is there something more going on behind the scenes?

6 responses to “Selling to the Devil: Neil Diamond Joins Roster of Selling Entire Catalogue to Universal”

Andrew

Feb 28, 2022 at 11:03 pm

I’m puzzled as to why artists are selling off their catalogues. I can remember some artists fighting hard to recover/keep their music. Nikki Sixx comes to mind there.

I suspect everyone’s guess is that they did it just for the money. The artists selling their stuff are already flush with cash. Sting probably had enough money to support five generations of his family, along with however many former students he taught.

It can’t be the work to maintain everything. I’m sure the artists involved have an army of accountants and managers on their payroll.

What I’d like to know is how these companies have so much money to make these acquisitions! I can only imagine their investors.

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1. manvmusic
  
  Mar 2, 2022 at 8:37 pm
  
  Yeah, only IMAGINE the wealth of the investors. Colossal money tree ..
  
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EclecticMusicLover

Mar 1, 2022 at 3:55 pm

I too am puzzled as to why so many iconic artists, many of who I like and respect, are doing this, especially given they’re already fabulously wealthy. I honestly don’t have any answers.

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1. manvmusic
  
  Mar 2, 2022 at 8:37 pm
  
  Yeah. Suppose it’s securing the bag for their kids and the kids kids and so on and so on. Might aswell as get your worth out of it for all those years!
  
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  1. Andrew
    
    Mar 4, 2022 at 12:51 pm
    
    Perhaps that’s all it is? They can’t take their money with them after they pass. With those scores, it means the interest alone will keep food on the table for at least a dozen generations.
    
    The more I think about it, if I use Nikki Sixx’s example, would he want his kids to have to take on the stress of keeping tabs on the tapes? Maybe not. Maybe he’ll sell down the road. I suspect more and more artists will step up to the plate and sell their work.
    
    Happy Stereophonics day!
    
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  2. manvmusic
    
    Mar 4, 2022 at 1:32 pm
    
    Yeah, more than likely! It’s all just settling their estates, really ain’t it? Can’t blame em, wish it was us!
    
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