The Weeknd has announced a new billion dollar deal that solidifies his control of his artistic legacy.
The “Blinding Lights” singer has signed a catalog partnership with Lyric Capitol Group. The business venture will allow Lyric to invest in his extensive music catalog while The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, and his team maintains creative control. According to Variety, The Weeknd will also be a shareholder and part-owner in the business endeavor.
The Weeknd forged the deal by ensuring he maintains creative control over his music. Instead of simply
selling off his catalog, he and Lyric created a new model where he keeps his publishing rights and masters. Lyric described the development of their unique deal with The Weeknd as it paves the way for other artists to scale their music without sacrificing artistic integrity.“From the beginning of the meeting, it was clear to all at Lyric that Abel would not sell his catalog. He wanted to be more innovative and creative in the way we established a partnership. To that end, through this venture, we constructed and
launched a new business model with Abel and his iconic catalog whereby Abel and his team have the freedom to execute their creative vision with the entirety of his rights, both publishing and masters. This unique catalog deal sets a new standard for artist equity and control.”Lyric Capital invests in music royalties, with the deal estimating to have a lofty payout in royalty multiples. Estimates show that the assets’ value totaled around $1 billion, based on an 18.2 multiple of its $55 million in net label and net publisher share.
However, the deal only includes music by The Weeknd since 2025, and will not hold for future releases. His publishing catalog remains administered by Universal Music Publishing Group.
Despite the stipulations, the partnership has reportedly become one of the biggest deals for a single artist’s catalog. The two parties hope to revolutionize the music industry, while breaking ground on new deals that prioritize artists in these conversations.
“I couldn’t be more excited about what Lyric, Abel, and team have created together,” said Ross Cameron, Lyric founding/co-managing partner. “From our first meeting, it was clear to me that we were sitting around the table with individuals that were going to change the way an artist thinks about his assets, music, and legacy. The collaboration resulted in a first-of-its-kind partnership between an artist and Lyric, and we are beyond thrilled about this new venture.”
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