Rod Stewart sells music catalog for approximately $100 million

Singer Rod Stewart has sold the rights to his music catalog to Iconic Artists Group, owned by Irving Azoff , a music industry executive whose resume includes companies such as Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and Madison Square Garden Company.

The deal was closed for a value close to 100 million dollars, which is equivalent to almost half a billion reais at the current exchange rate.

This was not the singer's first attempt to sell his catalog, but the plans of Hipgnosis Song , the company he was previously negotiating with , did not please him and he declined the offer.

In March 2023, Stewart stated: “This catalog represents my entire life’s work (…) And it became very clear after a long time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my music catalog, career, or legacy.” (via MusicWeek )

This time, Rod seems to be at peace with the decision: “the work of my life is safe in his [Irving's] hands” (via The Wall Street Journal ).

The valuable collection of the Iconic Artists Group

Stewart is yet another artist to sell his music to Irving Azoff, living up to the name itself; icons like Cher , David Crosby , and the Beach Boys have also sold their rights to the company.

And apparently it's only just beginning, as Iconic revealed that it has already raised over $1 billion from investors to buy futures shares.

New album coming out this month

On February 23rd, Rod Stewart will release a cover album of Big Band classics with pianist Jools Holland , titled Swing Fever .

In an interview with Rolling Stone , the singer commented on leaving the genre he's used to: "As long as I live, I'll always be a rock star, something I'm proud of, you know, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. But I love singing these songs, it's like paradise."