There are few artists that have an impact on American music than Brooklyn’s own Neil Diamond and he just made a major deal.
One of the big new things that older musicians are doing is selling their music catalogs. The rights to masters, recordings, and much more. Bob Dylan has done it. Bruce Springsteen did it. And it has made both of them nine figures richer. Hundreds of millions of dollars. Some of these deals include future music, and some do not.
Now, Neil Diamond and Universal Music Group have come to a deal and UMG will take control over the catalog, past, present, and future. These two parties have worked together over the years and the relationship is strong. So, the deal goes to UMG. This will include recordings of Sweet Caroline, not to mention songs that he wrote as the sole contributor, such as I’m a Believer and Cracklin’ Rosie.
Get this, UMG will now have the rights to 110 unreleased songs. An entire unreleased album and hours of archival videos of the singer-songwriter. Right now, UMG won’t say how much the deal is worth. But, judging by the other deals that have happened and the totality of the deal… I’d think that this could compete for Springsteen’s number of $550 million.
“After nearly a decade in business with UMG, I am thankful for the trust and respect that we have built together,” Diamond said about the deal. “And I feel confident in the knowledge that Lucian, Jody, Bruce, Michaelle, and the global team at UMG, will continue to represent my catalog and future releases with the same passion and integrity that have always fueled my career.”
Neil Diamond is worth a whole lotta diamonds now.
Neil Dimaond Reflected on Giving The Monkees ‘I’m a Believer’
It isn’t just his own career that Neil Diamond has made popular with his music. He wrote songs for other big artists as well. Before Sweet Caroline broke out into a hit, that was what he was doing. Songwriting. Soon, he made his own career. But not before giving The Monkees a hit single.
When I think of I’m a Believer what I always picture is Shrek the movie. Those that know what I’m talking about, know what I’m talking about. However, that song was huge for The Monkees in 1967 and for Diamond.
“[My boss] felt that I had given No. 1 records away to another group,” Diamond said in 2008. “[I] couldn’t have cared less, because I had to pay the rent, and the Monkees were selling records, and I wasn’t being paid for my records!”
The rest is pretty much history. Now Neil Diamond has sold his catalog, he won’t have to worry about paying the rent… not that he has for decades, the singer is already worth $200 million.
