Katy Perry has sold a bundle of music rights to $500 million-backed Litmus Music.
The deal spans Perry’s five studio albums recorded for Capitol Records, including the Grammy-nominated Teenage Dream.
Litmus now owns the artist’s stake in her master royalty income and her publishing rights to the albums One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, PRISM, Witness and Smile – all released between 2008 and 2020
Universal Music Group continues to own and/or control the master rights to the Capitol albums.
Litmus’ deal with Katy Perry, which industry sources suggest was worth around $225 million, marks this year’s biggest catalog deal with a single artist.
In January, we reported that Justin Bieber had agreed to sell a career-spanning catalog to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital (HSC) in a nine-figure deal. The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the Hipgnosis/Bieber deal would be worth around USD $200 million.
Bieber’s deal also included his publishing plus master royalty income.
Litmus Music arrived last summer, when music industry veterans Hank Forsyth and Dan McCarroll teamed up with Carlyle Global Credit to launch the new venture.
New York-based Litmus said that it would focus on acquiring and managing both publishing and recorded music rights, with Carlyle Global Credit committing an initial $500 million to do so.
Litmus Music’s first deal followed in December 2022 in the form of Keith Urban’s master recordings catalog, including ten multi-platinum, platinum or gold-certified studio albums and a greatest hits compilation.
In June, Litmus acquired a “portfolio of compositions” from songwriter and producer Benny Blanco, covering what it says are “numerous multi-platinum hits and hundreds of songs”.
“Katy Perry is a creative visionary who has made a major impact across music, TV, film, and philanthropy,” McCarroll said, as reported by Billboard. “I’m so honored to be partnering with her again and to help Litmus manage her incredible repertoire.”
In the same report, Hank Forsyth, Litmus co-founder and chief executive officer, added: “We are so grateful to be working together again with such a trusted partner.”
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