Pop icon Britney Spears has sold the rights to her music catalogue in a reported $200 million deal with music publishing company Primary Wave, according to NBC News.
Spears dominated the early 2000s with chart-topping hits such as “Oops! ... I Did It Again” and “Toxic”. Now, the rights to those songs will belong to Primary Wave after Spears reportedly signed a major new agreement, with details of the sale undisclosed.
Primary Wave, which was founded 20 years ago with the acquisition of a 50 per cent interest and partnership in Kurt Cobain’s music publishing catalogue, also owns songs from the catalogues of music legends including Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks and Whitney Houston, among others.
Representatives for Primary Wave and Spears did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment.
Music rights acquisitions have become increasingly popular investments in recent years as the recorded music industry has surged with the rise of streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. With access to vast libraries, listeners are engaging more with albums and artist catalogues, while older acts are frequently returning to the cultural spotlight. Licensing for film and television is also booming, and with Y2K nostalgia sweeping modern media, Spears may be selling at an opportune time.
Trade publication Music Business Worldwide estimated that more than $5 billion changed hands through music rights acquisitions in 2021, The Times previously reported. Songwriting catalogues at that time were being valued at roughly twice the average price seen in the preceding 25 years.
Several high-profile artists have struck similar deals. Bruce Springsteen in 2021 sold his master recordings and songs to Sony Music Entertainment for $500 million. Shortly afterwards, the estate of David Bowie sold his songwriting catalogue to Warner Chappell Music for $250 million. ZZ Top, Tina Turner and Paul Simon also reached comparable agreements around the same period.
Spears in 2023 released her memoir, “The Woman in Me”, which charted her rise to fame and her years-long legal battle to end a conservatorship imposed in 2008 over alleged mental health concerns. Music writer Jeff Weiss’s 2025 book, “Waiting for Britney Spears: A True Story, Allegedly,” included details — some true, some fabricated — from that highly publicised chapter of the singer’s life.
Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline followed the “Gimme More” singer’s memoir with last year’s “You Thought You Knew,” in which he accused Spears of consuming cocaine while she was still breastfeeding their second son, among other alleged concerning behaviours. Spears denied the allegations on social media.
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