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Stevie Nicks sells stake in her publishing catalog, could be worth $100 million

Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic2020 was the year that we were reminded just how enduring Stevie Nicks’ songs are: “Dreams” returned to the charts for the first time since 1977, thanks to that viral TikTok video, while Miley Cyrus sampled “Edge of Seventeen” in her hit “Midnight Sky.”  Now, it looks like Stevie’s cashing in on that popularity.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Stevie has sold a majority stake in her catalog of songs to music publisher Primary Wave.  The 80% interest that Primary Wave has purchased is valued at around $100 million, say insiders.

The deal also includes the solo hit “Edge of Seventeen,” as well as the Fleetwood Mac classics “Landslide” and “Rhiannon.”

As for why 72-year-old Stevie would sell part of the rights to her songs, The Wall Street Journal explains that she and Primary Wave are going to team up on marketing, branding and digital strategies, in an attempt to generate even more money from the catalog. 

Primary Wave also plans to market Stevie’s name and likeness, and set up a joint venture whereby she can sign new songwriters.

“Stevie’s music, while exceptionally well known, is still very undercommericalized and undermarketed,” Primary Wave chief executive Larry Mestel tells The Wall Street Journal. “There’s enormous upside potential for her songs to be reinvigorated and introduced to youth culture.”

Many songwriters have been selling stakes in their catalogs this year because music, according to the WSJ, is a “stable, recession-proof asset” that makes money no matter what’s going on with the economy.  That’s likely why Shamrock Capital Advisors LLC just paid $300 million for Taylor Swift’s early recordings.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Matty

Im The Digital Content Director here at Seacoast Oldies! I Love great stories about things happening on the Seacoast of New Hampshire and all of New England!

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