Katy Perry Sells Music Rights In $220M+ Deal To Litmus Music

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – New York-based Litmus Music, launched in 2022, now owns the artist’s stake in Katy Perry’s master royalty income and her publishing rights to the albums, One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, PRISM, Witness and Smile – all released between 2008 and 2020.
Universal Music Group (UMG) continues to own and/or control the master rights to the Capitol Records released albums.
Perry’s deal, which sources estimate was worth nearly $225 million, is 2023’s biggest catalog deal with a single artist.
“Katy Perry is a creative visionary who has made a major impact across music, TV, film, and philanthropy,” McCarroll said, as reported by Billboard. “I’m so honored to be partnering with her again and to help Litmus manage her incredible repertoire.”
In the same report, Forsyth added: “We are so grateful to be working together again with such a trusted partner.”
Litmus Music launched in the summer of 2022 when music industry veterans Hank Forsyth and Dan McCarroll teamed up with Carlyle Global Credit. Litmus said at the time it would focus on acquiring and managing both publishing and recorded music rights, with Carlyle committing an initial $500 million to do so.
The relatively new venture had its first deal in December 2022, purchasing Keith Urban’s master recordings catalog, including ten multi-platinum, platinum or gold-certified studio albums and a greatest hits compilation.