VARIETY: MÖTLEY CRÜE SELLS CATALOG TO BMG
Variety reports:
After months of negotiations, BMG has acquired the entire recorded-music catalog of Mötley Crüe in a deal sources say is valued at approximately $150 million, although other sources cited a significantly lower number.
The agreement includes the iconic band’s entire recorded output spanning their 40-year career totaling nine studio albums from their 1981 debut, Too Fast for Love, through the latest release in 2008, Saints of Los Angeles, as well as several platinum-selling live albums and compilation sets. Longtime manager Allen Kovac helped the band acquire the catalog from Elektra Records, which signed it in 1982, as part of a contract renegotiation during the 1990s…
…The band’s catalog has been revitalized since the 2019 Netflix biopic The Dirt introduced it to a new generation of fans. Sources say the deal was originally expected to go to Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Songs, which has acquired many of the group’s publishing rights from Sixx, its main songwriter.
The band released a statement that reads, “It feels amazing to be collaborating with our new partners at BMG. Their extensive track record of success in rock made them the perfect home to continue preserving and growing our musical legacy, ensuring we always stay at the top…”
…Said BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch, “This is more than just a significant transaction. It’s a new chapter for an extraordinary catalog. Few bands understand the myth and the magic of rock like Mötley Crüe do. In an increasingly competitive rights acquisition market, artists need to be convinced that a buyer will do the right thing with their work. I am delighted that Mötley Crüe have decided BMG will be the best custodians of their musical career…”
…BMG currently represents or owns rights in many of hard rock’s most elite and ground-breaking artists including Black Sabbath, Dio, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Scorpions, Uriah Heep and many of the artists who reflect their legacy, including Godsmack, Slash, and Bring Me the Horizon.
BMG Senior VP of Catalog Recordings Michael Kachko said, “Mötley Crüe stand among the pantheon of rock legends, the band’s legacy is tremendous and their fans avid. You can be sure that we will lavish all the respect and love for the music that BMG is recognized for to deliver current and future fans the best experience we can.”
Read more at Variety.
Crüe deserve to be in but we all know unless it will lead a profit to their museum (which is what the Rock hall is) they won’t get it.
Tough for Pat Benatar to get in cause in her heyday, she refused to use her sexuality to sell records (Why she did the cover of Get nervous in a strait jacket) She pissed people off and they are trying their best to keep her out. Also,if they continue to let rap acts in, I doubt Ice-T will get in while he fronts Body Count .yes Dana I had a similar experience with a car commercial but with Motörhead. And one final note Rap owes a lot to Billy Squire who should be in considering the influences. To be honest if my favorite artist aren’t in I don’t give a c……..