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Take a look at Phil Collins now. The English rocker and his Genesis bandmates have agreed to sell a bundle of their music rights to Concord Music Group Inc., according to the company.
The megadeal — valued at over $300 million, according to people familiar with the transaction — includes the publishing copyrights and a mix of recorded music income streams and masters of Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks‘ individual careers and work as the progressive rock group Genesis.
For Concord, one of the largest independent music labels, the transaction signals its return to the market as a buyer after a period where it explored a possible sale of itself.
The deal puts Collins, 71 years old, among other musical greats from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen who in recent years have cashed in on their life’s work for multimillion-dollar sums. Dylan’s songwriting catalog fetched nearly $400 million and Springsteen’s recorded music and songwriting went for over $500 million, according to people familiar with those deals.
Born in West London, Collins joined Genesis in 1970 as the band’s drummer, later taking on lead vocals after Peter Gabriel’s departure. (Gabriel’s music interests aren’t included in the deal.) Collins penned some of the band’s biggest hits including “Invisible Touch,” “That’s All” and “I Can’t Dance.” His solo career has proven bigger, beginning with the debut solo single “In the Air Tonight” in 1981 and continuing with hits including “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” “One More Night” and “Another Day in Paradise.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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