Why Bruce Springsteen’s $500M deal signals a ‘perfect storm’ brewing in music

“The Boss” is cashing in — and that could have big implications for the music business.

This week, Bruce Springsteen sold both his master recordings and publishing rights to Sony Music in a deal worth north of $500 million, according to multiple outlets. Sony Music and Springsteen did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment. 

Sony has been Springsteen’s home for the past five decades. Thanks to this deal, the studio will now have full ownership of the rocker’s entire collection, including hits like “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” and “Born in the U.S.A.”

The historic deal underscores a new age within the music industry as streaming, led by Spotify (SPOT) and Apple (AAPL), continues to balloon the value of songs and records. 

Guillermo Page, a former record label executive who worked for Sony and Universal, told Yahoo Finance that “streaming has provided stability.”

“The key is that the business has become predictable,” according to Page, who now teaches in the music program at the University of Miami. 

Investors “can trust in the future of the business because it’s growing. When you eliminate the uncertainty, it opens up a new door for investors to come in and snap those assets,” he added.

Page said that Springsteen’s deal is particularly interesting, since it shows how record labels now want a piece of the action — as opposed to music investment funds like London-based Hipgnosis. 

“The record labels have decided to not let these type of deals fall through the cracks and lose valuable assets in their catalogs,” he said. 

‘The perfect storm’

Springsteen is not the only big-name artist to strike publishing deals, as the dominance of streaming sparks a rush for artists — especially older ones — and labels to capitalize on a surge in revenue. 

In May 2021, The Red Hot Chili Peppers sold the rights to its song catalog for a reported $150 million. Last year, Bob Dylan sold over 600 copyrights to Universal Music Group in a deal reportedly valued at over $300 million. Prior to that, Stevie Nicks sold a majority stake in her songwriting for a reported $100 million.

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“You’re seeing all major acts from the 70s, 80s, and 90s that are riding the wave of streaming,” Page said, explaining that artists can now “capture a ton of money” in ways they were not able to do in the past. 

“It’s the perfect storm for artists who can now maximize their return on the sale of those assets,” he continued.

In the case of Springsteen, the rocker sold both his masters (the recordings of the actual songs), along with his songwriting (also known as the publishing side of the business).

“It’s like two deals in one because [Sony] is acquiring both sides of a song,” Page explained. 

For context, music publishing encompasses the copyrights for songwriting and composition, such as lyrics and melodies. Although publishing rights are often not worth as much as actual recordings, they can still lead to a significant amount of revenue over time with radio play, advertising, movie licensing and more.

“It gets to the point where there’s money coming from so many different places that you can’t go wrong on any type of deals like this,” Page noted. 

Overall, the former record label exec. said he expects more catalog deals in the future as “the investors are out there.” 

In addition, he surmised that more up-and-coming artists are going to want to own their masters, a direct result of their predecessors’ success. 

“There’s going to be a whole new generation of musicians who are going to pay more attention to the deals they’re signing with a record label,” he said. 

Just like Springsteen, “they may want to own their destiny,” Page added. 

Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193

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