Red Hot Chili Peppers are reportedly looking to sell their recorded music catalogue for US$350million – find out more below.
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According to a Billboard report, the Californian band’s recorded masters catalogue is up for sale, and the band are seeking to get at least $350million in the deal. Billboard also estimates that the catalogue currently brings in around $26million a year for the band.
Currently, Red Hot Chili Peppers own the masters and rights to all of the 13 studio albums and other releases that have been issued through Warner Music. It is currently unknown whether or not they also own the masters for the first four albums, which were released through EMI.
Billboard also reports that Red Hot Chili Peppers may have already locked in a deal with Warner for the masters catalogue, per sources, though this has yet to be confirmed.
The $350million deal, should it fetch as much as they’re asking for, will be in addition to the $140million that Hipgnosis paid the band in 2021 for their publishing rights and songwriting catalogue. Should the new deal go through, it’ll amass the Californian funk-rockers nearly $500million.
Red Hot Chili Peppers will soon be the latest act to sell their catalogue, following the likes of Pink Floyd, Queen, Kiss and Tame Impala. Pink Floyd sold their catalogue to Sony in October for $400million, while Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has sold all past and future catalogue to Sony for an undisclosed sum.
Similarly, Kiss have sold their entire catalogue, brand name, likeness and IP to Swedish entertainment and music investment firm Pophouse for an undisclosed amount. To date, the most expensive catalogue in music history belongs to Queen, who sold to Sony last June for a whopping USD$1.27billion – marking the biggest acquisition of its nature ever.
Red Hot Chili Peppers have yet to share their plans for 2025 but most recently performed at the FireAid benefit concert in Los Angeles late last month to raise funds for the city following the devastating wildfires that swept several neighbourhoods earlier in the year.
