The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the latest in a slew of music artists that have taken the decision to sell the rights to their entire body of work. The California quartet’s catalog has fetched a fee of $140 million dollars.
Representatives of the Chili Peppers have confirmed the deal. The funk-rock group’s body of work will begin being administered by Hipgnosis Songs. The company was founded in 2018 by Merck Mercuriadis and ex-Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers.
In recent months, they have cut a large number of deals that will give them exclusive ownership rights over the music of artists like Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Shakira and others.
The news is part of a trend of big-name artists, often in the twilights stages of their careers, opting to part with their catalog for a large sum of money paid upfront. Last year it was announced that Bob Dylan would be selling his collection of songs to Universal Music for the sum of $300 million. It remains the biggest deal so far.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers reunite with guitarist John Frusciante in 2019. The band is said to be working on a new album. Hipgnosis’ acquisition, however, sees them take control over the output recorded by the band from 1983 until today. This includes hits such as Under the Bridge, Otherside, Can’t Stop, Dani California, Scar Tissue, and Give It Away.
