Sector
Music.
Music has two distinct copyrights, and confusing them is the single most common error in ownership reporting. The master recording and the underlying composition are owned separately, often by different companies, and an artist can control one while owning none of the other.
These reports state which copyright is being discussed, who holds it now, what the reversion or termination timeline looks like, and which catalogue a particular deal actually moved.
32 reports published in this sector.
- MusicMay 21, 20258 min read
Who Owns Taylor Swift's Masters? She Owns All Twelve Albums After the 2025 Buyback
Swift bought her first six albums' masters back from Shamrock Capital on May 30, 2025. No price was disclosed; Billboard's sources put it near the roughly $360 million Shamrock had paid.
- MusicMay 17, 20267 min read
Who Owns 50 Cent's Masters? UMG Holds 2003-2009, G-Unit Holds Everything Since
Curtis Jackson's 2003-2009 albums still sit with Interscope, Shady and Aftermath under UMG, while everything from Animal Ambition onward is reported to sit with his own G-Unit Records.
- MusicMay 17, 20267 min read
Who Owns Juice WRLD's Masters? Grade A and Interscope Kept the Recordings
Grade A Productions and Interscope retained the master recordings, while Opus Music Group, since acquired by Litmus, bought 90% of the artist-side income interest.
- MusicMay 17, 20267 min read
Who Owns Justin Bieber's Masters? Universal Kept Them, Hipgnosis Bought the Income
Bieber sold his own interest in 290-plus pre-2022 titles to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis in 2023, reported at about $200 million, but Universal still owns the recordings.
- MusicMay 17, 20269 min read
Who Owns Kanye West's Masters? Universal for the Classics, YZY for Vultures 1
The College Dropout carries a UMG Recordings copyright line, while Jesus Is King credits Getting Out Our Dreams II and Vultures 1 credits YZY. Two eras, two owners.
- MusicMay 17, 20268 min read
Who Owns Katy Perry's Masters? Litmus Bought the Royalties, Capitol Kept Control
Litmus Music bought Perry's royalty and publishing stake in five Capitol albums in 2023, reportedly for about $225 million, but Capitol and UMG still control the recordings themselves.
- MusicMay 21, 20257 min read
Who Owns The Beatles Catalog? Sony Publishes, Universal Holds the Masters
Michael Jackson's $47.5 million ATV buy in 1985 set the template; Sony paid his estate $750 million in 2016, and McCartney's US terminations are pulling domestic rights back.
- MusicMay 21, 20258 min read
Who Owns Bad Boy Records? Warner Holds Half the Classic Masters
Warner Music paid about $30 million in April 2005 for half of Bad Boy Records LLC and its classic masters. Combs kept the trademark and reassigned publishing to writers in 2023.
- MusicMay 21, 20258 min read
Who Owns Tupac's Estate? Amaru Holds the Masters, Not Death Row
Afeni Shakur built Amaru Entertainment in 1997 to hold her son's IP. Tom Whalley has been sole trustee since 2016, and Snoop's Death Row purchase never included Tupac's albums.
- MusicMay 22, 20256 min read
Who Owns Elvis Presley Enterprises? ABG Holds 85%, the Presleys 15%
An 85% block bought by CKX in 2005 and sold to Authentic Brands Group in 2013 runs the licensing. The Presley family's Promenade Trust still holds 15% and Graceland itself.
- MusicMay 22, 20259 min read
Who Owns Death Row Records? Snoop Dogg Bought the Brand in 2022
Snoop Dogg bought the Death Row brand from Blackstone-controlled MNRK in February 2022 on undisclosed terms. Gamma distributes the catalog under licence with no equity in the label.
- MusicMay 22, 20255 min read
Who Owns the Rights to The Beatles Music? Apple Corps Can Veto Any Use
Every Beatles sync needs two clearances: the master from Universal and Apple Corps, the composition from Sony or, increasingly in the US, from McCartney and the Lennon estate.
- MusicMay 22, 20256 min read
Who Owns Tidal? Block Inc. Holds 86.8% and Took a $132m Write-Down
Block Inc. paid $297 million in 2021 for what filings now put at 86.8% of Tidal. Jay-Z and the 16 launch artists still hold the other 13.2% between them.
- MusicMay 24, 20257 min read
Who Owns Interscope Records? UMG Went from Half to All by Fiscal 2000
Seagram's MCA bought half of Interscope for $200 million in 1996, and SEC subsidiary schedules show the label at 100% owned by fiscal 2000. UMG holds it now.
- MusicMay 24, 20257 min read
Who Owns Atlantic Records? Warner Music Group, with Access Industries on Top
Warner Music Group is Atlantic's sole corporate owner, and Access Industries holds about 72% of WMG's economics and roughly 98% of its votes above the label.
- MusicMay 24, 202513 min read
Who Owns Universal Music Group? Bolloré at 18.51%, Tencent at 11.45%
Vincent Bolloré holds 18.51% of UMG and Tencent 11.45%, with Vivendi near 10%. Pershing Square's 55.8bn euro merger proposal was rejected in May 2026.
- MusicMay 24, 20257 min read
Who Owns Warner Music Group? Access Industries' 20-Vote Class B Shares
Access Industries holds about 72% of Warner Music Group's economics but roughly 98% of its votes, because Len Blavatnik's Class B shares carry 20 votes each.
- MusicMay 24, 20258 min read
Who Owns Ariana Grande's Masters? Republic Holds All Seven Albums
Republic Records, part of Universal, holds the masters to all seven Ariana Grande studio albums, from Yours Truly in 2013 to Eternal Sunshine in 2024.
- MusicMay 27, 20256 min read
Who Owns Aaliyah's Masters? Blackground Kept Them, EMPIRE Distributes
Barry Hankerson took full control of Aaliyah's masters in 1996 and Blackground still holds them. Her 1994 debut sits outside the deal and stays off streaming.
- MusicMay 27, 20259 min read
Who Owns Adele's Masters? XL Holds the First Three, She Holds 30
XL Recordings holds 19, 21 and 25 worldwide after the US rights reverted from Columbia in 2021. Adele's own Melted Stone holds 30 and licenses it to Columbia.
- MusicMay 27, 20256 min read
Who Owns Amy Winehouse's Masters? Island Records Since Her 2002 Deal
Island Records, a Universal imprint, owns Frank, Back to Black and Lioness. Her estate collects an artist royalty under a contract whose rate was never published.
- MusicMay 27, 20256 min read
Who Owns Angie Stone's Masters? Sony, Concord, Then Small Indies
Sony holds Stone's 1999-2004 Arista and J Records albums and Concord the 2007 Stax comeback. Her later indie contracts stayed private. She died in March 2025.
- MusicMay 27, 20257 min read
Who Owns Aretha Franklin's Masters? Sony Has Three Eras, Warner One
Four label eras split the Queen of Soul. Sony owns the Columbia, Arista and RCA masters, Warner the Atlantic run behind 'Respect', the estate one 2011 album.
- MusicMay 28, 20259 min read
Who Owns Beyoncé's Masters? Sony Through 2013, Parkwood From 2016
The credit line moves in 2016, not 2013: Sony holds Destiny's Child and every solo album through the self-titled record, and Parkwood holds Lemonade onward.
- MusicMay 16, 20268 min read
Who Owns Queen's Masters? Sony's Rock Bidco Outside North America
Rock Bidco, in which Sony holds more than 50% but under 75%, now owns Queen Productions. Disney's Hollywood Records still owns the US and Canadian masters.
- MusicMay 16, 20267 min read
Who Owns Sam Cooke's Masters? ABKCO Holds the Solo Catalog, Concord the Gospel Sides
ABKCO Music & Records controls the core Sam Cooke solo catalog, and industry profiles name Jody H. Klein as its owner. The 1951-1957 Specialty gospel sides sit with Concord.
- MusicMay 16, 20267 min read
Who Owns Stax Records Masters? Concord Holds the Label, Warner the Atlantic Era
There is no single owner: Concord holds the Stax imprint and the catalogue it got with Fantasy in 2004, while Warner's Atlantic and Rhino control the 1959-1968 Stax and Volt masters.
- MusicMay 16, 20268 min read
Who Owns Stevie Wonder's Masters? Motown and UMG, With Rare Artist Leverage
Motown and Universal control the released Stevie Wonder recordings, but his 1971 renegotiation at 21 handed him production through Taurus and publishing through Black Bull Music.
- MusicMay 16, 20267 min read
Who Owns Whitney Houston's Masters? Sony Controls the Arista Recordings
Houston signed to Arista in 1983, and Arista became Sony property when Sony bought out Bertelsmann in 2008. Primary Wave holds a 2019 stake in estate royalties and likeness rights.
- MusicMay 20, 20267 min read
Who Owns Elektra Entertainment? Warner Music, Where Access Casts 98% of the Votes
Kinney National bought Elektra in 1970, pulling it into the Warner system. The label now runs under Atlantic Music Group, with Access Industries holding about 98% of WMG's votes.
- MusicMay 20, 20268 min read
Who Owns Rhino Entertainment? Warner Bought the Other Half in May 1998
Warner already held 50% of Rhino through Atlantic before buying the rest in May 1998. The reissue specialist is now WMG's catalogue division, under Access control.
- MusicJune 9, 20268 min read
Who Owns Michael Jackson's Masters? Sony and the Estate Now Split Them
Sony bought half of Jackson's Epic-era masters and Mijac publishing from the estate in February 2024 for a reported $600 million. Universal keeps the Motown tapes.