Beleaguered music mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ music catalog has quietly raked in $3 million annually over the past three years, but the true gold mine lies in his full ownership of Bad Boy Records, where he controls both his masters and publishing rights.
The performance of Combs‘ artist catalog, averaging around 147,000 album consumption units annually over the past three years, falls short of expectations for a star of his stature, according to reporting by Billboard. Beyond his legal troubles — including multiple lawsuits alleging sexual assault and a federal sex trafficking investigation — the complexity of his catalog also presents challenges for potential music asset buyers.
The Complex Catalog
Combs has released music under various names, including Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, and Diddy-Dirty Money, making it difficult to market his catalog as a cohesive brand, industry experts told Billboard. His decision in 2017 to adopt the name Love, or Brother Love, further complicates matters, as his last album, “Off The Grid,” doesn’t appear to be linked to these new monikers in industry databases.
The most popular tracks on the album are collaborations, such as “Creepin’” with The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, and 21 Savage, where streams are credited to the main artists rather than the Diddy remix. As a result, Diddy’s artist page only reflects 97,000 album consumption units for 2023, including the “Off The Grid” release.
Last year, Combs chose to return the publishing rights to the label’s artists and songwriters, including Faith Evans, the estate of the late Notorious B.I.G., and Ma$e, who has previously accused Combs of withholding payments, a source told Forbes. According to Billboard, the process began in May 2021, with some artists already reclaiming their rights, while others are still being contacted.
Given the relatively modest activity of his catalog, Billboard estimates that Combs’ master recording revenue stands at around $2.4 million annually, while his publishing catalog generates approximately $600,000 per year. With numerous co-writers sharing in the publishing rights, Diddy’s share likely amounts to about $225,000. Combined, his catalog brings in roughly $2.625 million annually, and using a 16-times multiple — a common rate for high-profile music catalogs — this puts the estimated value of Diddy’s artist catalog at around $42 million.
Representatives for Diddy did not respond to requests from Billboard for comment. It’s important to note that Diddy has also been a prolific producer for many Bad Boy artists, and the master recordings he owns by other artists could still be lucrative for music investors. In September 2023, however, Diddy announced that he was returning the publishing rights to the songwriters and artists who helped build Bad Boy, including Ma$e, Faith Evans, the LOX, 112, and the estate of the Notorious B.I.G.
Reports indicate that Combs had previously rejected offers to sell this publishing catalog. While most of these artists could have reclaimed their American publishing rights after 35 years, Diddy still retained global rights under U.S. law, though the fate of those global rights remains unclear.
Despite the challenges surrounding his personal catalog, Diddy’s ownership of the Bad Boy master recordings could represent a significant source of income and potentially a much higher valuation than the $42 million estimate for his own master recording catalog.
