You’ll Never Believe How Much Paul Simon Sold the Simon & Garfunkel Royalties For
If money talks, then “The Sound of Silence” made some really big noise.
Legendary recording artist Paul Simon, half of the great Simon and Garfunkel songwriting duo with Art Garfunkel, sold a share of his royalties to the Simon and Garfunkel song catalog to BMG.
BMG did not disclose the exact dollar amount of the deal, but Rolling Stone reports that a source familiar with the matter says the BMG deal was worth eight figures (or at least $10,000,000, for those who don’t like counting figures).
In this sale, BMG only owns rights to the royalties, or income from a song’s sales and streams. BMG does not own copyright control of the music.
“In any list of the true greats, Paul Simon stands as one of the pillars of popular music history. We will play our part to ensure his music continues to be honored and respected,” says Thomas Scherer, BMG’s President, Repertoire & Marketing, Los Angeles and New York.
“We are delighted to have secured the agreement of Paul Simon for BMG to acquire his royalty interests in Simon & Garfunkel recordings and his neighboring rights income,” Thomas Coesfeld, BMG CEO-designate Thomas Coesfeld said in a statement. “This is a significant transaction. Our ability to secure this deal demonstrates once again that BMG provides the best home for the greatest artists.”
What will Simon do with his windfall? We can only assume he’s going to Graceland.
70s Pop Idols
May 2019
The biggest and best from the worlds of rock and disco!
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