Keith Urban became the latest artist to sell the rights to his master recordings earlier this week. No fee was reported for the sale of the Australian-American’s catalogue which includes his 10 studio albums like 2002’s Golden Road, 2004’s Be Here a greatest hits compilation, as well as 24 songs that hit Number One on the Country charts. The catalogue was bought by music rights company Litmus Music.
It isn’t just the publishing, which brings in solid revenue but the masters are the most lucrative part of the acquisition of Urban’s music by Litmus Music.
Urban in a released statement stated: “What makes this such a great fit for me, is the genuine passion and respect Dan, Hank, and the team at Litmus have for this music. In working with them, I feel that same collaborative spirit that’s always inspired me as an artist.” Dan and Hank are Dan McCarroll (former executive at Warner Chappell and Blue Note) and Hank Forsyth (former president of Warner Bros. Records and Capitol Records).
The deal will also include working with Litmus on future albums like the one he has scheduled for 2023.
-Everett
