The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that singer Rod Stewart, whose successes include "Maggie May," is the most recent performer to sell the rights to their songs.

According to the article, Stewart's recorded music and publishing catalog assets, together with some rights to his name and likeness, were purchased by Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group for a cool about $100 million.

Less than a week has passed since news of a record-breaking agreement were made public, in which Sony agreed to purchase half of Michael Jackson's publishing and music catalog rights from his estate.

Although there are little details available about the deal, sources from Billboard and The New York Times indicate that it is perhaps the biggest asset valuation for a single performer.According to The Times, which quoted sources briefed on the agreement, Jackson's assets are worth at $1.2 billion or more. Billboard stated that this implies Sony is paying a minimum of $600 million for the interest.

In recent years, music rights have been a desirable commodity following a wave of sales that saw artists like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Stevie Nicks cash in on their libraries.

Although the market seemed to slow down a little, the transactions involving Stewart and Jackson demonstrate that demand is still high.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Azoff's Iconic has raised over $1 billion in fresh funding to be used for catalog purchases.

In the era of streaming, investors find music catalogs to be a desirable asset class with long-term potential. The publication rights holder of a song gets a share in a number of situations, such as album sales, radio play and streaming, and usage in commercials and motion pictures. Reproduction and dissemination are governed by recording rights.

End//voice7news.tv