Warner Music Group Reaches New Catalogue Deal With David Bowie’s Estate

According to NME, Warner Music Group has agreed to a new catalogue deal with the estate of David Bowie that will see the company overseeing his albums. Previously, the group only held worldwide rights to David Bowie’s music that was released between 1968 and 1999 after they acquired the Parlophone Label Group in 2013. The new licensing deal ensures that Warner Music now owns the rights to all of his albums, including the full catalogue of Bowie’s music from 2000 to 2016, which was the year of his death. 

In 2023, Bowie’s albums Heathens, Reality, The Next Day and Blackstar will fall under the Warner Music umbrella. These albums were originally released via Sony Music. There are only a few songs, including his 1967 self-titled album and a few singles, that will not be managed by Warner Music Group going forward. 

This April, David Bowie’s estate announced that they would release a companion album to his iconic project, The Man Who Sold The World, titled The Width of Circle. The album was released on May 31 via Parlophone. It featured a two-CD set filled with 21 unreleased tracks, non-album singles, a BBC 1 Concert session and music that was played on television. 

This year, there have also been numerous covers released of classic David Bowie songs from artists like Venomous Concept, Helado Negro, Yungblud, Sky Ferreira and Billy Corgan. Corgan performed a unique and incredible version of one of Bowie’s biggest hits, “Space Oddity,” for a livestream tribute event in his honor. The event, “A Bowie Celebration: …just for one day!” was hosted by David Bowie’s keyboardist, Mike Garson.

Aswath Viswanathan: Currently a student at Carleton College graduating in 2023 from the Chicago area. I love playing tennis, making music, listening to music, and reading. Some of my favorite artists are Smino, King Krule, and Isaiah Rashad but I'm always looking for new music and I'm open to pretty much anything.
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