LOS ANGELES-Katy Perry has sold a bundle of her music rights to Litmus Music, with multiple sources pricing the deal at $225m (£182m). The sale, which was announced on Monday, covers all five albums Perry released for Capitol Records, from 2008’s One of the Boys to 2020’s Smile. That includes multi-platinum hits like Firework, Teenage Dream, Hot ‘n’ Cold, California Gurls and I Kissed A Girl. It is the biggest catalogue deal for a single artist this year.
Justin Bieber was the previous title holder, after offloading his stake in his back catalogue to the UK-based Hipgnosis Songs Capital in January for $200m (£162m).
Litmus now owns Perry’s stake in the master recordings and publishing for the records, meaning it will collect any future royalties the music earns. Two of her songs - Dark Horse and Roar - have more than one billion streams on Spotify. Roar is also one of the most-watched videos of all time on YouTube, with 3.8 billion plays. A major star in the 2010s, Perry has slowed her work rate down in recent years, concentrating on her Las Vegas residency and raising a family with her partner, the actor Orlando Bloom. She will also return for her seventh season as a judge on American Idol next year.