Dr. Dre is looking to pocket upward of $250 million for a portion of his music assets.
In a deal near its completion, Variety reported that Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group are close to acquiring Dr. Dre’s music, which also includes assets that rake in $10 million annually.
The Wrap reported that the music assets in question include two of Dre’s acclaimed solo albums, royalties from his N.W.A. songs, his producer royalties, and his writing credit for certain songs, such as those songs on his 1993 album “The Chronic,” which is published by Sony Music Publishing.
The Art of the Deal
According to Billboard, the highly speculated and anticipated deal is being handled by the rapper and record producer’s longtime attorney, Peter Paterno of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano.
Shamrock, which owns the masters of some of Taylor Swift’s songs, is reportedly trying to acquire between 75 and 90 percent of the music’s revenue package, compared to UMG, which is only aiming for the remaining percent, 10 to 25 percent.
It seems UMG wants to acquire Dre’s share of Kendrick Lamar releases, as well as the master recordings of the landmark album “The Chronic,” which is expected to revert from the ownership of Death Row Entertainment to Dre in August.
Neither UMG nor Shamrock, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles and founded by the late Roy Edward Disney of the Walt Disney Company, will comment on the deal. However, sources told Variety that Dr. Dre is indeed selling his music catalog, and the final offer would realistically be a sale price that is somewhere between $200 million and $250 million.
With the sell Dre, who is worth an estimated net worth $820 million, could get bumped up tp billionaire status.
Part of a Growing Trend
Dr. Dre is part of a growing trend of artists are selling their music catalogs to big publishers. Chuck D, Irv Gotti, John Legend, and Usher are just a few who have done so.
As Finurah previously reported, every artist has a reason why they want to relinquish their rights to their creative work. Some want the money now and up front rather than spread out over years and years.
It’s also a good time to sell, according to seasoned music industry exec Serona Elton, who has worked with complex music royalties and licensing.
“All of a sudden, the market is crazy, and everybody’s paying ridiculous sums of money — the kind of stuff you never thought you’d see. And people worry it’s a bubble. Maybe it will stay that way. You know, maybe that’s the right time to sell,” she told NPR.
Sony Music, for example, reportedly paid more than $500 million for Bruce Springsteen’s entire back catalog.
