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.
25 Responses
Put ‘em in the Hall of Fame! How Bon Jovi got in before Motley puzzles the mind.
and Judas Priest should be in before all of them, including, sorry, Iron Maiden.
I could easily understand Bon Jovi being in the RRHOF before Motley Crue. And Judas Priest and Iron Maiden definitely need to be in there as well. As for the Crue, they’re more about theatrics and outrageousness than musicianship.
I’m one of the few who do not like motley crue
And just can’t understand how this band blew up like they did , I’ll admit it was mostly because I think vince neil is awful , I really liked John Corabi’s performance on the album he did with them , if he had stayed I would have become a fan –
Robert,
I think like many things in life, it was timing. I remember someone I know, who saw them open for Ozzy, and was blown away by their performance and image. He said they looked like dolls, but could play their butts off. So, I think many people who caught that tour, got turned on to them.
There is no question that Neil’s voice can be polarizing, but they do have some very catchy songs, and their antics on the road/live shows, probably contributed to their success? But, what I do know? LOL!
The “Carnival Of Sins” DVD is probably my favorite concert DVDs of all time! I mean they went all out on that tour, especially on this performance, more pyro than KI⚡⚡, motorcycles, midgets, and mayhem! And Vince’s voice actually sounds pretty good, amazing what they can do on film! 😉 But the most important thing is the music, and man oh man did they deliver, Mick, Nikki, and Tommy were locked in as tight as I ever heard them!
Motley has more known songs by the general public than Bon Jovi. Motley overall has more sales and more influence on other bands than Bon Jovi. Musicianship has nothing to do with what gets a band into the Hall of Fame. It’s sales, influence, and cultural impact. That’s Motley not Bon Jovi. Also, Mick Marx is one of the best and innovative guitar players from that era. His playing is why Motley is able to cash in on their catalog now.
No what gets people into the Hall of Shame is what the Rolling Stone elitist d-bags, who have no clue about, nor any respect, for hard rock and metal, decide, that’s it. Sales, popularity, influence, don’t mean anything as evidenced by how long it took for Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and KISS, to get in.
It’s a farce, as procven by all the non rock acts inducted in there. Rap before Priest? Yeah right…take the “Rock N’Roll” out of the title already, there is nothing RN’R about Hip Hop, although, they LOVE to sample it.
Dana, I agree with your comments 100%! I couldn’t have said it better myself. There shouldn’t be any rappers whatsoever in the R&RHOF, ESPECIALLY before real musicians/artists like Priest, Maiden, Styx, Benatar, etc…
D,
The fact that Judas Priest is not in, and was not inducted along side Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, is infuriating, insulting and embarrassing.
the rock and roll hall of sham,im just wondering how many hard rock act’s are in the rap hall of fame???,but L.L.cool j is in the rrhof right,nothing to see here folks just keep on moving along….
Jeff,
I looked it up, because I knew there were many others, outside of LL Cool Jay, such as Run-DMC and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. However, and excuse me, I forgot the others, so these are the Rap/Hip Hop artists also inducted: Beastie Boys, Public Enemy N.W.A, 2Pac the Notorious B.I.G. Jay-Z and Eminem.
Here is a quote from Billboard writer Joe Lynch in 2019 article, ” ‘But it’s the Rock Hall’ wailing has died down as critics and fans adjust to our genre agnostic era, where ‘rock’ is more an attitude than a strictly defined sound.”
Oh really, Mr. Lynch? Without rock, namely Billy Squier, who is reportedly the most sampled musician in Rap, there might not be any Hip Hop hits. Remember Tone Loc? He had two popular songs, “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina.” Guess who is sampled in those songs? Van Halen and Foreigner. Do you think those songs would have become hits that they not sampled the others? Doubtful.
Also, please don’t force your inclusionary views about Rock onto the fans. The solution is simple, that the Rock N’ Roll out of the title, because Rock represents way more than an “attitude,” especially to the genre’s fans.
Finally, N.W.A. has a song called “F–k tha Police,” and they get inducted?? Wow…
That is sickening and disgusting – “F–k The Police??” Really, that’s real nice, not surprised though, that’s what rap and hip-hop is about, – disrespecting law enforcement, disrespecting women, basically no respect for anything or anyone, and this is the s–t they put in the HOF? They rip off/sample (whatever you want to call it) great artists like Billy Squier all the time and become rich and “famous” for it, and for babbling really great, thoughtful lyrics like “F–k The Police,” yeah, right, okay, oh they so deserve to be in the R&RHOF, great world we’re living in today…