5 Artists Who Haven’t Sold Their Catalog

Artists who haven't sold their catalog are seemingly a smaller number with every passing year. After all, there have been numerous artists in recent years who have sold their music catalog and other properties for a massive price tag.

In 2024, there four major catalog sales. In February, Rod Steward sold his catalog to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group for $100 million. In June 2023, Billboardreported Stewart was close to a catalog deal with Hipgnosis. Sale talks went on for two years only for Stewart to back out.

In April, KISS sold its catalog, name, logo and makeup rights to Pophouse for a reported $300 million. Pophouse, a Swedish entertainment and music investment firm, already had a relationship with the band and is the creative force behind the creation of the KISS Avatars.

Pink Floyd sold their recorded rights to Sony for $400 million in October. The deal also included the band's name and the band's "likeness," but the band still retained their songwriting rights.

And then, there's the sale of Queen's catalog. In June, the legendary band sold their catalog to Sony Music for a staggering $1.27 billion. The Queen/Sony catalog deal omits revenue rights for live performances, which will be retained by Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Needless to say, an artist has the potential to set their family up for multiple generations with the strategic sale of their catalog. However, there are still some artists who've opted to not sell (for now). Here are five artists who haven't sold their catalog.