Katy Perry Sold Her Music Catalog Rights For A Reported Massive Amount Of Money, But People Are Divided About If It Was Enough

The singer, known for her hits like “I Kissed a Girl,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Roar” is the latest musician to sell their stake in the rights to their music catalog, and she’s believed to have made quite a buck in the transaction.

On Monday, the music rights management company Litmus Music announced in a press release that they’ve begun “a creative partnership” with Katy for her five studio albums (One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, Prism, Witness, and Smile), all of which were released between 2008 to 2020.

Teenage Dream, in particular, was a record-breaking success. The 2010 record spawned five No. 1 singles: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “E.T.,” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” She tied with Michael Jackson as the only artist to achieve this feat. MJ did so with his 1987 record Bad. Katy was also the first woman reach this accomplishment.

“Katy’s songs are an essential part of the global cultural fabric. We are so grateful to be working together again with such a trusted partner whose integrity shines in everything that she does,” Litmus’s co-founder and CEO Hank Forsyth said in the press release.

As for how much Katy sold her stake in the catalog, which also includes hits like “Hot n Cold,” “Wide Awake,” and “Dark Horse,” the reported amount is no joke.

Notably, Katy’s deal with Litmus doesn’t include her masters. According to Deadline, her masters remain with Universal Music Group. Katy has been signed to Universal’s label Capitol Records since 2007.

Of course, given just how many blockbuster hit songs Katy has had over the years, the reactions to her selling her shares for $225 million were feverish.

Some felt she deserved so much more:

While others theorized the price likely made sense, all things considered:

@ThisIsMeTanking/Pop Base/Twitter/About You/UMG / Via Twitter: @ThisIsMeTanking

Thankfully, musician Hoodie Allen stepped in to provide some much-needed context on how the music industry actually works i.e. artists don’t usually have complete ownership over all aspects of their music: