In the video below from AXS TV, Brian May of Queen talks to Sammy Hagar about how Freddie Mercury remained brave and dignified in his final days before he passed away. Sammy also catches up with Joe Walsh and Tanya Tucker to talk all things music.
According to recent report by Hits, Queen has agreed to sell their recording, publishing and other rights to Sony Music for a record-breaking £1 billion. ($1.27 billion US). The deal also includes name and likeness rights, potentially opening the door to musicals, commercial and film placements, merchandising and other money-making opportunities.
The Sun followed up with a report saying that Mary Austin, former fiancée of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, is set to bank £187.5 million thanks to the record-breaking deal with Sony Music. Austin received half of the Brit rocker’s estate when he died in 1991 then another 25 per cent when his parents died.
Read the complete report here.
Classic Rock 96.1 claims the $1.27 billion US marks the largest music rights sale on record, surpassing Bruce Springsteen's previous $500 million deal in 2021, also to Sony Music, as well as a deal reached earlier this year in which Sony agreed to pay $600 million for half of Michael Jackson's publishing and recorded masters catalog.
Queen’s catalog features megahits like "Killer Queen"," Bohemian Rhapsody", "Another One Bites The Dust" and many more.
News of Sony’s reported talks to acquire Queen’s catalog arrived a year after Music Business Worldwide broke the news (in May 2023) that discussions were happening between Queen’s representatives and certain companies over a potential $1 billion-plus catalog sale.
That catalog, they reported, combined both publishing and recorded music rights, all jointly and equally owned by the band’s surviving ‘classic’ line-up (Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon) plus the estate of Freddie Mercury.
Read more at Music Business Worldwide.
