The Police frontman, Sting, has sold his entire songwriting catalog, according to a New York Times report. The singer has sold all his music, worth $300 million, to Universal Music Group.
This sale encompasses the copyrights to Sting’s songs – meaning Sting’s solo material, as well as his entire output for The Police, are under complete control of Universal. Iconic hits like “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” and “Every Breath You Take” are now out of the singer’s hands.
In recent years, other artists have begun selling their music for whopping amounts of money. In December, Bruce Springsteen sold his masters to Sony Music for a total of $500 million, while Neil Young sold half his catalog rights to Hipgnosis for an unknown amount. Meanwhile, David Bowie sold the entirety of his catalog for $250 million, and Bob Dylan sold his to UMG in 2020 for around $300 million, while his recordings were bought by Sony for $200 million.