More than 50 years since Queen released their eponymous debut, the band is reportedly close to selling their music catalog. Lawyers for band members Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, and the estate of Freddie Mercury are in talks to sell their music assets to an unknown source for $1.2 billion.
Queen’s music assets include its publishing, recorded music, and ancillary streams of income—including merchandise and licensing, revenue from the 2018 Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, and more—along with royalties from the band’s North American master recordings catalog, which was sold to Hollywood Records at some point in the 1990s.
The sale would include everything from Queen’s 1973 self-titled debut through their 1995 album Made in Heaven—the band’s 15th and final album following the death of Mercury in 1991. Their catalog also comprises Queen hits “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “You’re My Best Friend, “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Somebody to Love,” and more, along with the band’s 10 live albums and two soundtracks (Flash Gordon, Highlander).
In 2018, sales of the band’s albums had an uptick following the release of the film, Bohemian Rhapsody, which grossed more than $910 million worldwide. The film also won four Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, and two BAFTA Awards. By 2019, Queen’s catalog surged to more than 3.5 million units sold and may expand even further with another film. May previously hinted that he is interested in working on a sequel to the 2018 Queen biopic.
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The band was reportedly in the earlier stages of selling its catalog to an undisclosed source in the spring of 2023. Several major music companies, including Universal Music Group and Disney Music Group, which owns the band’s catalog in North America, have been vying for the acquisition, according to an earlier report.
The Disney-owned Hollywood Records has said that it acquired Queen’s master recordings for the life of copyright, according to a report, and would maintain the band’s later albums in the U.S. for 35 years, a timeframe which falls under U.S. copyright law.
If the band’s deal goes through, it would mark the biggest artist catalog sale in history, surpassing Bruce Springsteen‘s $500 million sale of his masters and publishing to Sony in 2021.
In 2023, Queen embarked on their North American Rhapsody Tour with singer Adam Lambert.
Photo: Express Newspapers/Getty Images
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