Bruce Springsteen ‘sells back catalogue to Sony for $500 million’

Bruce Springsteen has sold his entire back catalogue of music to Sony for $500 million.

The 72-year-old star – who is one of the world’s best-selling artists – has sold his masters and music publishing rights to Sony Music in a money-spinning deal.

The agreement will see Sony assume ownership of Springsteen’s entire catalogue, which includes his hit album ‘Born in the USA’, Billboard reports.

The two parties came to an agreement in recent weeks, but additional details about the contract remain unknown for the time being.

Sony has also decided against making a public announcement about the deal.

Over the last 12 months, a host of big-name music artists have decided to sell their back catalogues, including the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young and now, Spingsteen.

In December last year, Dylan sold his back catalogue of more than 600 songs to Universal Music Group.

Universal reportedly paid $300 million for the rights, and the company hailed the move at the time as the “most significant music publishing agreement this century”.

Jody Gerson, the chairman and CEO of the publishing company, said: “To represent the body of work of one of the greatest songwriters of all time – whose cultural importance can’t be overstated – is both a privilege and a responsibility.

“The Universal Music Publishing Group global team is honoured to be Bob Dylan’s publishing partner and I especially want to acknowledge [chief operating officer] Marc Cimino whose passion and perseverance were instrumental in bringing this opportunity to us.

“We look forward to working with Bob and the team in ensuring his artistry continues to reach and inspire generations of fans, recording artists and songwriters around the world.”