Katy Perry sells her music rights to Litmus Music for $225 million

The deal includes the singer's first five studio albums, including hits like 'Teenage Dream' and 'I Kissed a Girl.'

Katy Perry durante una actuación en mayo de 2023 celebrada en el Coronation Concert — (Cordon Press)

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18 de septiembre, 2023

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Katy Perry has just closed a multi-million dollar sale. The Carlyle Group announced Monday that the music rights business Litmus Music had acquired the music rights to the singer's first five studio albums for $225 million.

The sale makes Litmus Music the owner of the music rights to the albums "One of the Boys" (2008), "Teenage Dream" (2010), "Prism" (2013), "Witness" (2017) and "Smile" (2020) as well as songs such as 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Teenage Dream.' This was stated by the founder and former president of Capitol Records (former owner of these records), Dan McCarroll. He issued a statement published by the group Carlyle explaining what it meant for them to take over the musical rights of the pop artist:

Katy Perry is a creative visionary who has made a major impact across music, TV, film, and philanthropy. I’m so honored to be partnering with her again and to help Litmus manage her incredible repertoire.

The company's CEO and co-founder, Hank Forsyth, agrees. He claimed that Katy Perry's songs are a great asset and "an essential part of the global cultural fabric":

Katy’s songs are an essential part of the global cultural fabric. We are so grateful to be working together again with such a trusted partner whose integrity shines in everything that she does.

Katy Perry, the latest singer to join the Carlyle Group

The CEO of the Carlyle Group, Matt Settle, said that closing a long-rumored sale proved Litmus Music's ability to "partner with the world's top artists":

We believe this is a testament to the team’s ability to partner with the world’s top artists. Katy’s iconic songs have not only achieved outstanding commercial success but have significantly influenced popular culture.

This isn't the only deal they've closed. Variety reported that the Carlyle Group recently acquired the commercial rights of artists such as Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Avicii, Sting, Neil Diamond, Tina Turner, Shakira and Bruce Springsteen, among others.

This agreement is part of the investment made by Carlyle Global Credit. The company has deployed more than $3 billion dollars to acquire some of the most valued assets from the sports, media and entertainment space since 2018.