THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD

David Bowie’s Estate Sells Off Star’s Songwriting Catalog to Warner

The deal, encompassing more than 400 songs written between 1967 and 2016, is worth an estimated $250 million.

Ziggy played guitar—and now, Warner’s music publishing division owns proof of that. Following months of negotiations, Warner Chappell Music announced Monday that it had purchased the entirety of David Bowie’s songwriting catalog for upward of $250 million. The division inked the deal with Bowie’s estate late last month, Warner Chappell said in a statement, adding a formidable compendium of more than 400 songs from 26 albums to its stable. The deal encompasses material from as early as 1967, the year of Bowie’s self-titled debut album, to as late as 2016, when the singer released Blackstar just two days before his death from liver cancer at age 69. His posthumous album Toy, which will be rereleased on Friday, is also included in the transaction. Bowie is just the latest musician to have his whole catalog picked up. Most recently, Bruce Springsteen sold his to Sony Music for a staggering $500 million. Bowie, however, broke new ground in the field of artist rights in 2007 when he sold so-called Bowie bonds backed by the revenue from his recordings and performances over the decade that followed.