The Weeknd, who has more songs that have reached 1 billion streams on Spotify than any other artist, is reportedly hoping someone is willing to give him a billion dollars for a share of those songs.
Bloomberg reports that the singer is in talks to raise $1 billion in financing, using a stake in his music publishing rights and his master recordings as collateral. Lyric Capital Group, a private equity firm, is part of the talks and is lining up investors to pony up the billion bucks.
If the deal goes through, Bloomberg reports, it'll be one of the biggest ever in the music rights space. Last year, Sony Group Corp. bought a 50% stake in Michael Jackson's catalog for $600 million.
While it's mostly been veteran artists who've sold their music rights, including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, some younger artists, such as Justin Bieber, have sold their catalogs for living expenses or new business ventures.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Sign Up
