As the music world celebrates the golden jubilee of Queen, it’s being reported that the band’s catalog might be selling to the tune of a billion dollars–a queen’s ransom by most standards.
Based on reports from an informed source, CNN says that discussions are “well underway” for Universal Music Group to acquire the rights to the legendary band’s output from Disney Music Group, with a deal expected to close soon. A spokesperson for Disney, however, is denying the rumored transaction.
If it’s true, the deal would dwarf the December 2021 record-breaking sale of Bruce Springsteen’s catalog to Sony, which yielded a measly half billion. Other performers who have recently inked sales of their music catalogs have been Justin Bieber, Sting, and the estate of David Bowie, but none have approached the billion-dollar mark.
Industry observers say that the high price tag makes sense, given the popularity of Bohemian Rhapsody, the 2018 Oscar-winning film that narrated the band’s rise to stardom with frontman Freddie Mercury. The film grossed more than $900 billion in its own right.
If the published reports are true, the material in the rumored sale could include music from its fifteen albums it made between 1973 and 1995, when its album Made in Heaven was released, four years after Freddie Mercury’s death. Ten live albums and two soundtracks (Flash Gordon and Highlander) are also included in the deal, according to insiders. Over the past five decades, Queen has sold some 300 million records and racked up several number-one hits including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
Queen is showing no signs of abdicating as it marks its half-century mark. Last year, vocalist Adam Lambert and Queen completed a tour of the UK and Europe. In 2023, the band plans a 22-date Rhapsody Tour across North America, also with Lambert, who will perform a 150-minute set of Queen hits that will include “We Will Rock You,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Radio Ga Ga,” and “Somebody to Love.”