Queen Catalog Reportedly To Be Acquired By Sony Music For Over $1 Billion

Queen have reportedly agreed to sell their recording, publishing and other rights to Sony Music for a record-smashing $1.27 billion.

According to Hits, the deal also includes name and likeness rights, potentially opening the door to musicals, commercial and film placements, merchandising and other money-making opportunities.

Complicating the deal is the fact that Disney Music Group owns Queen’s recorded music catalog in North America, which it acquired at some point in the 2000s.

Disney and Universal Music Group will permanently retain the rights to distribute Queen’s records in North America, but the band’s share of the royalties will now go to Sony Music.

For the rest of the world, those rights are expected to transfer from current owners UMG to Sony Music in either 2026 or 2027.

According to Variety, the only revenue not covered in the deal is for live performances, which founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor, who still actively tour with singer Adam Lambert, will retain. Bassist John Deacon retired shortly after the 1991 death of founding singer Freddie Mercury.

The band’s 2018 autobiographical film Bohemian Rhapsody earned over $900 million worldwide.