# List of largest music deals

    This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. Please observe the definition of the list when adding or editing entries.
The following is a list of the largest music deals in history signed by artists, including recording contracts and multi-rights agreements with over $50 million, as well catalog acquisitions with a reported sum of over $150 million. Some figures might not be entirely accurate, as some multi-million-dollar contracts were reportedly misrepresented or exaggerated, and many were just media estimations. Therefore, no rankings are given.
An early recorded five-figure deal in music history was reported by The Music Trades magazine in the late 1910s, made by American composer John Stepan Zamecnik. The 1960s saw contracts with six-figures such as an advance deal for $143,000 to Led Zeppelin (Atlantic Records) in 1968, then the biggest deal of its kind for a new band. The 1970s saw a rise in millionaire recording contracts, starting with a deal made by The Rolling Stones in 1971, which represented "a new benchmark in industry contracts", according to Billboard, and became the largest contract ever made by that point. In a short span of years, Neil Diamond signed a $4–5 million deal with Columbia Records, which was later superseded by Paul McCartney's Capitol Records and Elton John's MCA Records deals of $8 million each, as well as Stevie Wonder's 1975 deal with Motown valued at $13 million, reaching a new peak in the industry. The 1980s saw more contracts of eight figures, including record-breaking Diana Ross's $20 million contract with RCA Records in 1980, or the Rolling Stones with CBS Records for $28 million in 1983. An increase of blockbuster deals began in the 1990s, with top-signing artists such as Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince each exceeding the $40–60 million marks, making multiple appearances in the Guinness World Records. Up until 2016, only a few recording and multi-rights contracts outpaced the $100 million mark. The largest recording deal of all time belongs to Michael Jackson, a $250 million contract for 7 years, starting in 2010, and renewed in 2018 for an additional $250 million. The largest music deals belong to catalog acquisitions which include songwriting and publishing rights, with an increase in the late 2010s and early 2020s. The Estate of Michael Jackson made the largest posthumous deals, followed by David Bowie. In 2024, Sony Music acquired the Queen catalog and a number of other rights, excluding touring revenue, for US$1.27 billion, the largest sum ever paid for an artist's body of work.
Multi-million-sized music deals have often raised skepticism and been criticized in corporate terms for bi-directional disadvantages, including Prince's 1992 contract with Warner Bros deriving a contractual dispute. Referred by a contributor from Forbes to as "the best-known and most-cited example" among misadventured contracts, Mariah Carey's 2001 deal with Virgin Records marked "the first time that a major music corporation decided to cut its losses on a superstar agreement", according to The New York Times.

## List of largest recording contracts and multi-right deals

| Year | Artist | Music company | Approx deal | Notes |
| 2008 | Jay-Z | Live Nation | $150 million | |
| 2002 | Robbie Williams | EMI Records | $125 million | Labeled as the largest British record deal in history. |
| 2007 | Madonna | Live Nation | $120 million | Labeled as the largest contract deal in history by a female artist. |
| 1995 | Michael Jackson | Sony Music | $100 Million | |
| 2001 | Whitney Houston | Arista Records | $100 million | Considered the largest contract in music at that point. |
| 2001 | Mariah Carey | Virgin Records | $100–80 million | Considered the largest contract in music at that point. |
| 2008 | Shakira | Live Nation | $100–70 million | |
| 1996 | R.E.M. | Warner Records | $80 million | Considered the largest contract made by a band and in music industry at that time. |
| 1996 | Janet Jackson | Virgin Records | $80–70 million | Considered the largest contract in music at that point. |
| 2008 | Nickelback | Live Nation | $70–50 million | |
| 1991 | Michael Jackson | Sony Music | $65–60–50 million | Considered the largest contract in music at that point. |
| 1991 | Paul McCartney | Capitol Records | $65 million | |
| 1992 | Madonna | Warner Records | $60 million | Considered the largest contract in music for a female pop entertainer at that time. |
| 1992 | Barbra Streisand | Columbia Records | $60–40 million | |
| 1995 | Metallica | Elektra Records | $60 million | |
| 1999 | Backstreet Boys | Jive Records | $60 million | |
| 2022 | YoungBoy Never Broke Again | Motown | $60 million | |
| 1998 | U2 | PolyGram | $50 million | |
| 1991 | Janet Jackson | Virgin Records | $50–40–32 million | Considered the largest contract in music at that point. |

### Media estimations/expectatives

The following are contracts confirmed artists signed with respective record labels, but sums are largely based on media speculations.
| Year | Artist | Music company | Approx deal | Notes |
| 2022 | Drake | Universal Music Group | $400 million | |
| 1993 | U2 | Island Records | $200 million | |
| 2012 | Lil Wayne | Cash Money Records | $150 million | |
| 2016 | Adele | Columbia Records | $130 million | Originally reported by British tabloid The Sun, but reported by others as an undisclosed amount. |
| 1992 | Prince | Warner Bros | $100 million | Undisclosed price. |
| 2016 | Harry Styles | Columbia Records | $80 million | Sum not confirmed. |

## List of largest music catalog acquisitions

| Year | Artist | Purchaser company | Approx deal | Notes |
| 2020 | Queen | Sony Music Publishing | $1.27 billion | The deal comprises Queen's recorded music catalog and additional rights, including royalties from the film Bohemian Rhapsody, valued at US$1.27 billion, the largest sum ever paid for an artist's body of work, excluding touring revenue. |
| 2016 | Michael Jackson (Estate) | Sony Music Publishing | $750 million | Michael Jackson's estate has sold his 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which includes the music catalogues of several artists, notably the Beatles. |
| 2024 | Michael Jackson | Sony Music | $600 million | 50% acquisition. Considered the biggest transaction ever struck for half of a single artist's body of work. This puts total value of rights at $1.2 billion. |
| 2021 | Bruce Springsteen | Sony Music | $550–500 million | |
| 2020 | Pink Floyd | Sony Music | $400 million | The deal includes Pink Floyd's recorded music catalog, as well as their name, image, and likeness rights, but excludes music publishing assets |
| 2020 | Bob Dylan | Universal Music Group | $400–300 million | Undisclosed price. It is a songwriting catalog agreement. |
| 2022 | Phil Collins Genesis | Concord Music Group | $300 million | |
| 2021 | Sting | Universal Music Publishing Group | $300 million | |
| 2018 | Michael Jackson (Estate) | Sony | $287 million | Michael Jackson's estate sold its 10% stake in EMI Music Publishing to Sony. |
| 2021 | Paul Simon | Sony Music Publishing | $250 million | |
| 2022 | David Bowie | Warner Chappell Music | $250 million | |
| 2023 | Katy Perry | Litmus Music | $225 million | |
| 2023 | Justin Bieber | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | $200 million | |
| 2021 | Neil Young | Hipgnosis Songs Fund | $150 million | |
| 2022 | Bob Dylan | Sony Music | $150 million | Catalog agreement. |

### Posthumous

| Year | Artist | Purchaser company | Approx deal | Ref. |
| 2017 | Michael Jackson (Estate) | Sony | $250 million | |
| 2010 | Michael Jackson (Estate) | Sony | $250 million | |