Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly in negotiations to sell almost half of the Warner studio’s film and TV music-publishing assets for approximately $500 million according to Hits Daily and Variety.
It’s not clear which specific assets are on the table, with one source saying the rights to ‘slightly less than half’ of the catalogue are up for sale and likely to go to a major label. Sony is reportedly said to be in the lead.
The catalogue is believed to include music from films such as “Purple Rain,” “Evita,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Rent,” and several “Batman” films, amongst others, along with certain individual songs.
Observers for the trade indicate many of the company’s assets are more than a half-century old and are ‘declining’ in value, which makes them difficult to exploit.
There are comparatively few traditional songs, with the library mainly consisting of film themes and cues. The catalogue is currently under a multi-year administration deal with Universal Music Publishing.
The deal comes at a time when Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav is drawing attention for seemingly selling off or licensing out the studio’s crown jewels to hit his savings targets.
