The Rolling Stones Won’t Sell Their Music Catalog: “It’s a Sign of Getting Old”

Keith Richards is not sure The Rolling Stones are ready to sell their music catalog and said it’s usually a sign of “getting old.”

In a recent interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Richards opened up about quitting smoking after 55 years and how the band has been working on new material, none of which they plan to sell off any time soon.

“Mick [Jagger] and I have not spoken about it on a serious level,” said Richards, 78, of the possibility of selling their nearly 60-year catalog of music. “I don’t know if we’re ready to sell our catalog. We might drag it out a bit, put more stuff on it. You only think about selling your catalog… it’s a sign of getting old.”

The Stones wrapped up the North American leg of their No Filter tour in November 2021, and now Richards, Jagger, 78, and Ronnie Wood, 74, are set to celebrate their 60 years as a band with an upcoming European Tour entitled SIXTY. The band will be joined by Steve Jordan, who replaced the Stones’ longtime drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 at the age of 80.

Richards also said that he was writing new music with Jagger and Jordan. “It’ll be interesting to find out the dynamics now that Steve’s in the band,” said Richards. “It’s sort of metamorphosing into something else.” The band’s most recent album of original material was A Bigger Bang in 2005.

When asked if he thinks about how much longer he can continue performing, Richards had no clear answer.

“If I did that, I wouldn’t come up with an answer, and I’d always be thinking about it,” said Richards. “You know what I mean? Tomorrow? No. July the 5th, 2025? No, no you can’t no… I’ll find out the hard way.”

Photo: Courtesy BMG