The Weeknd recently signed an incredible new record contract.
Variety was the first to publish the news on Saturday (Dec. 13) that the 35-year-old singer and Lyric Capital Group had completed a business deal in which Lyric has invested in the artist’s music catalogue from its beginnings through 2025.
The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) and his team will have creative control over the catalogue and continue to be proprietors and shareholders in the business, according to the artist’s representatives.
“From the beginning of the meeting, it was clear to all at Lyric that Abel would not sell his catalog. He wanted to be more innovative and creative in the way we established a partnership,” explained a representative to Variety. “To that end, through this venture, we constructed and launched a new business model with Abel and his iconic catalog 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 catalog deal sets a new standard for artist equity and control.”
publishing through 2025; no further releases are included. His publishing catalogue is still managed by Universal Music Publishing Group, and he maintains his collaboration with XO/Republic/Universal Music Group.
The agent stated that it is hard to determine a royalty multiple because the arrangement is not a traditional catalogue sale.
According to Variety, the assets were estimated to be worth at least $1 billion based on roughly $55 million in net label and net publisher share, which implies an 18.2 times multiple, according to earlier reports from outlets including Billboard and Bloomberg.
Additionally, according to Billboard, it’s unclear if the Lyric Capital agreement solely contained those assets or if it also included other assets like merchandising and tour earnings.
Variety was asked to confirm financial statistics, but representatives for Lyric and The Weeknd rejected. But if the rumours are true, this would be one of the biggest deals involving a single artist’s catalogue, particularly for a modern talent.
Only a few artist deals have surpassed $1 billion, according to Billboard. These include the $1.25 billion valuation of Michael Jackson’s recorded masters and music publishing catalogues in a deal in which $625 million exchanged hands for a 50% stake in February 2024, and the $1.27 billion Queen received when selling its masters to Sony in June 2024.
The Weeknd recently established a record for a solo male artist by selling over $1 billion in tickets for his After Hours ‘Til Dawn Tour. Additionally, he has more than 120 million Spotify listeners per month.
Ross Cameron, Lyric’s founder and co-managing partner, said, “I couldn’t be more excited about what Lyric, Abel and team have created together. From our first meeting, it was clear to me that we were sitting around the table with individuals that were going to change the way an artist thinks about his assets, music and legacy. The collaboration resulted in a first-of-its-kind partnership between an artist and Lyric, and we are beyond thrilled about this new venture.”
Rich Garzia, Lyric co-managing partner, added, “Lyric strives to create artist-friendly structures and we believe this partnership demonstrates that at the highest level with the top artist in the world. I want to thank Abel and his team for putting their trust in Lyric.”
Chord Music Partners, supported by Universal Music Group and Dundee Partners, already had half of The Weeknd’s publishing rights prior to the agreement.
In addition to owning Spirit Music Group and managing catalogues from artists like Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Ingrid Michaelson, and others, Lyric Capital is an investor in music royalties.
