Britney Spears' entire music catalogue isn't her own anymore

Britney Spears no longer owns her music catalogue after selling the rights to Primary Wave, marking another major moment in the pop star’s long and closely watched career.

The deal, first reported by TMZ and later confirmed by multiple outlets, sees Primary Wave acquire Spears’ ownership share of her catalogue, which includes many of the songs that defined late-1990s and 2000s pop. 

While the exact terms have not been disclosed and remain under strict non-disclosure agreements, sources familiar with the agreement estimate the price to be in the low nine figures, placing it in a similar range to Justin Bieber’s reported $200 million catalogue sale in 2023.

The agreement was reportedly signed on December 30. 

Representatives for both Spears and Primary Wave have declined to comment publicly on the transaction.

Among the songs now controlled by Primary Wave are global hits such as …Baby One More Time, Oops!… I Did It Again, (You Drive Me) Crazy, Lucky, Toxic, Stronger, Womanizer, Gimme More, Circus, I’m a Slave 4 U, Overprotected, Piece of Me, Till the World Ends and Everytime, along with dozens of other tracks spanning her career. 

Spears holds songwriting credits on nearly 40 songs in her catalogue, including fan favourites like Everytime, Work Bitch! and Me Against the Music, although many of her biggest singles were written by collaborators.

Primary Wave is an independent music publisher and rights management company whose catalogue already includes major names such as Bob Marley, Prince, Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, Ray Charles, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Olivia Newton-John, Smokey Robinson and Boy George, among many others. 

The company also runs a talent management arm representing artists including Melissa Etheridge, Cypress Hill and Fantasia.

While details remain limited, industry sources suggest the deal likely includes Spears’ artist royalties and publishing interests, though it is considered highly unlikely that her name and likeness rights were part of the sale. 

Such rights would typically command a significantly higher valuation than what has been reported.

The sale places Spears among a growing list of high-profile artists who have cashed in on their catalogues in recent years, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Shakira, Neil Young and KISS. 

For rights holders like Primary Wave, such acquisitions offer long-term opportunities across film, television, advertising and stage productions.

Those possibilities already exist for Spears’ music. 

A biopic based on her bestselling memoir, The Woman in Me, is currently in development at Universal Pictures, following the book’s release in 2023. 

Her songs have also been adapted for the Broadway jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time, which premiered the same year.

Spears has largely stepped away from the music industry in recent years.

She has not released a studio album since 2016’s Glory and last performed live in October 2018, closing out her Piece of Me tour at the Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. 

Plans for a second Las Vegas residency, titled Domination, were cancelled in 2019, and she has not returned to the stage since.

After being released from her 13-year conservatorship in 2021, Spears has maintained a relatively low public profile, though she remains active on social media. 

With the catalogue sale now complete, ownership of one of pop music’s most recognisable bodies of work has formally passed into new hands, even as Spears herself continues to define her relationship with fame, music and life on her own terms.