Donna Summer’s Music Catalog And NIL Rights Acquired By Primary Wave

The legacy of the late Queen of Disco is entering a new chapter.

Primary Wave Music announced a new partnership with the estate of Donna Summer, giving the music publishing and entertainment company a stake in the singing icon’s music catalog, recordings, and name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Under the agreement, Summer’s estate will collaborate with Primary Wave to develop new marketing, branding, digital, film, and television opportunities while leveraging the company’s publishing infrastructure and global marketing team to preserve and expand her legacy.

Summer, who died in 2012 at 63, remains one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, according to a press release. Her catalog includes classics such as “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” “Last Dance,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “On the Radio,” “Love to Love You Baby,” and the groundbreaking electronic dance anthem “I Feel Love.”

According to Primary Wave, Summer’s 17 studio albums include three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. She also became the only artist in history to score three consecutive double albums that reached No. 1 on the chart with Live and More, Bad Girls, and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II.

The partnership adds another legendary

artist to Primary Wave’s growing roster of iconic catalogs as music rights companies continue investing in timeless intellectual property that can generate revenue through streaming, licensing, film, television, advertising, and brand partnerships. The renewed interest in music catalogs underscores the long-term value of the work produced by late, great artists, as streaming, licensing, and brand partnerships create new revenue opportunities for their estates.

In 2023, Mercury/UMe released a digital-only 40^th-anniversary Deluxe Edition

of Summer’s classic solo album, “She Works Hard For The Money.” The 13-track Deluxe Edition featured the original 9-song “She Works Hard For The Money” album plus four bonus tracks: two club mixes and two instrumentals.

RELATED CONTENT: ‘Love to Love You’ Documentary Shows Why We Loved To Love Donna Summer