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The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) has inked a new catalogue deal with Lyric Capital Group that is reportedly in the $1 billion US range, according to Variety. However, the Canadian singer will retain ownership of his catalogue.
In a statement to Variety, representatives for the Weeknd confirmed the new partnership: “From the beginning of the meeting, it was clear to all at Lyric that Abel would not sell his catalogue. He wanted to be more innovative and creative in the way we established a partnership,” they said.
WATCH | The Weeknd’s music video for Cry For Me:
“To that end, through this venture, we constructed and launched a new business model with Abel and his iconic catalogue whereby Abel and his team have the freedom to execute their creative vision with the entirety of his rights, both publishing and masters. This unique catalogue deal sets a new standard for artist equity and control.”
The new business venture will only come into effect for the Weeknd’s music masters and publishing through 2025. Future releases are not included.
In recent years, many musicians have sold their catalogues: Justin Bieber inked a $200 million US deal with Hipgnosis when he sold his songs to them in 2022; Katy Perry sold the rights to her first five albums for $225 million US to Litmus Music in 2023; and Queen sold its catalogue in 2024 for just over $1 billion US.
In November, the Weeknd also celebrated another milestone: his After Hours ‘Til Dawn Tour officially crossed the $1 billion US mark.
“Very few artists reach this level of global touring success,” said CAA’s head of global touring, Darryl Eaton. “It’s truly rarefied air, and being part of the team supporting Abel’s ascent to this milestone is one of the proudest moments of my career.”
The lengthy tour grossed $1.004 billion US, and the Weeknd will continue the shows into 2026 with stops in Paris, Amsterdam and more.
WATCH | The Weeknd performs Die For You live at SoFi Stadium:
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cbc.ca ’
