The Weeknd’s holiday season just got a little bit better—to the tune of 1 BILLION dollars. Nowadays, an artist selling their music catalog is one of the biggest moves in the industry, but Abel Tesfaye has taken unprecedented steps that could change what that looks like in the future.
Below, dive into the details of The Weeknd’s groundbreaking new business ventures.
Did The Weeknd Sell His Music Catalog? Not Exactly
As we’ve come to know, Abel Tesfaye maneuvers the industry by his own rules. He’s changed his aesthetics a ridiculous number of times and even rap beefed in falsetto. Basically, it’s safe to expect the unexpected. While selling your catalog to a company is the common approach to this kind of thing—effectively giving them 100% control of whatever music was sold to them—this wasn’t exactly the case this time.
His latest move is being billed as a “catalog partnership” rather than a sale. The Weeknd partnered with Lyric Capital Group, an investment firm focused on acquiring and managing music royalties.
This is more of a collaborative effort than a sale, with a rep for The Weeknd stating the parties involved “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.”
Additionally, the deal only includes music that he’s released from 2025 and prior. Basically, his previously released projects and his most recent album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. Anything he cooks up from now and into the future? Still under his control. Who knows? He might even double down on ANOTHER billi in the future if he continues to make music and deals of this magnitude.
How Does The Weeknd’s $1B Catalog Partnership Change The Music Business?
As previously mentioned, “selling your catalog” usually requires giving up the rights to your music, creative control, future revenue from its usage, and more. This catalog partnership, however, opens the door for what’s possible. Lyric is reportedly aiming to make interactions of this nature much more “artist-friendly,” changing the way artist equity is perceived in the music business.
Many people still don’t grasp the importance of owning your music, with some listeners misunderstanding that this partnership was only possible because Abel owns his masters. Brian Zisook (of AudioMack) set the record straight:
Ross Cameron, Lyric’s founding/co-managing partner, had this to say about the new partnership:
“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 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.”
Considering the music industry is more active and accessible than ever—with many artists who are independent or have unique label/deal situations—a pathway to future success that underscores the importance of owning your masters is a big step toward changing the business for artists everywhere.
