Britney Spears no longer owns her music catalog after selling the rights to Primary Wave, marking another important moment in the pop star’s long and closely watched career.
The deal, first reported by TMZ and later confirmed by multiple outlets, sees Primary Wave acquire Spears’ ownership stake of her catalog, which includes many of the songs that defined late 1990s and 2000s pop.
Although the exact terms have not been disclosed and remain under strict non-disclosure agreements, sources familiar with the deal estimate the price to be in the low nine figures, putting it in a range similar to Justin Bieber’s reported catalog sales of $200 million by 2023.
The agreement was reportedly signed on December 30.
Representatives for both Spears and Primary Wave have declined to comment publicly on the transaction.
Among the songs now controlled by Primary Wave are global hits such as …Baby One More Time, Oops!… I did it again, (You drive me) Crazy, Lucky, Poisonous, Stronger, Womanizer, Give me more, Circus, I am a Slave 4 U, Overprotected, Piece of me, Until the world ends and Wheneveralong with dozens of other tracks spanning her career.
Spears has songwriting credits on nearly 40 songs in her catalog, including fan favorites such as Whenever, Working bitch! and Me against the musicalthough many of her biggest singles were written by collaborators.
Primary Wave is an independent music publisher and rights management company whose catalog already includes big names such as Bob Marley, Prince, Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, Ray Charles, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Olivia Newton-John, Smokey Robinson and Boy George, among many others.
The company also operates a talent management arm that represents artists including Melissa Etheridge, Cypress Hill and Fantasia.
Although details remain limited, industry sources suggest that the deal is likely to include Spears’ artist royalties and publishing interests, although it is considered highly unlikely that her name and rights were part of the sale.
Such rights will typically have a significantly higher valuation than what has been reported.
The sale places Spears among a growing list of high-profile artists who have cashed in on their catalogs in recent years, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Shakira, Neil Young and KISS.
For rights holders such as Primary Wave, such acquisitions offer long-term opportunities across film, television, commercials and stage productions.
Those possibilities already exist for Spears’ music.
A biopic based on her bestselling memoir, The woman in meis currently in development at Universal Pictures following the book’s 2023 release.
Her songs have also been adapted into Broadway jukebox musicals Once Upon a One More Timewhich premiered the same year.
Spears has largely walked away from the music industry in recent years.
She has not released a studio album since 2016 Honor and last performed live in October 2018, which shut her out Piece of me tour at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Plans for another stay in Las Vegas, titled Dominancewas canceled in 2019 and she has not returned to the stage since.
After being released from her 13-year conservatory in 2021, Spears has kept a relatively low public profile, although she remains active on social media.
With the catalog sale now complete, ownership of one of pop music’s most recognizable works has formally passed into new hands, even as Spears herself continues to define her relationship with fame, music and life on her own terms.
