Rod Stewart Sells His Song Catalog for Nearly $100 Million

Some guys have all the luck.

Rod Stewart is selling his song catalog to song catalog of hits to Irving Azoff‘s Iconic Artists Group for nearly $100 million, according to multiple outlets.

“This year marks my 60th year in the music industry,” the 79-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said in a statement. “The time is right, and I feel fortunate to have found partners in Irving and his team at Iconic that I can entrust with my life’s work and future musical legacy.”

The deal marks a partnership with Sir Rod Stewart CBE and a strategic investment from HPS Investment Partners (HPS), a leading global investment firm with $107 billion in assets under management. Artisan and Moelis acted as financial advisors to Iconic, and Gibson Dunn and Alter, Kendrick & Baron acted as legal advisors. Jackoway Tyerman acted as counsel to Rod Stewart. Lisbeth R. Barron and the team at Barron International Group, LLC acted as financial advisor to HPS Investment Partners, and Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisor.

“We are thrilled to welcome one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of our time, Rod Stewart, to the Iconic family,” said Irving Azoff, Chairman and CEO of Iconic. “Our new partnership with HPS provides us with the resources and flexibility to make blockbuster signings like this one and to continue the success of our legendary artists and their legacies.”

Stewart nearly sold his catalog before to Hipgnosis Songs, but pulled out as he felt ” it became abundantly clear after much time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my song catalogue, career or legacy.”

Stewart’s legacy joins a list of artists with Ionic Artists Group, including the Beach Boys, Cher, Dean Martin, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Nat King Cole, Linda Ronstadt, and Joe Cocker.

The deal includes his entire career, beginning with his vocal contributions on Jeff Beck’s first two albums – Truth and Beck-Ola – as well as his work with the Faces, his band with fellow Jeff Beck Group alum Ronnie Wood. The Faces–Kenney Jones and the late Ian McLagan and Ronnie Lane-produced several early 1970s songs co-written by Stewart, including “Miss Judy’s Farm” “Bad ‘n’ Ruin” and the U.S. hit, “Stay With Me” (No. 17, Hot 100).

It continues with his ’70s output, beginning with 1971’s Every Picture Tells a Story, which topped the Billboard 200 and produced breakthrough hits “Maggie May” (co-written with Martin Quittenton) and a cover of “(Find a) Reason to Believe.” Other hits from the ’70s include “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, as well as “You Wear It Well,” “Hot Legs,” “You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)” and his foray into disco, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Plus, the covers “The First Cut Is the Deepest” (Cat Stevens) and “Twistin’ the Night Away” (Sam Cooke ).

His ’80s hits continued with “Passion,” “Tonight I’m Yours (Don’t Hurt Me)” “Infatuation,” “Baby Jane,” “Forever Young” and one of his biggest tracks of the decade, a cover of Tom Waits’ “Downtown Train.” His streak continued in the ’90s with “Rhythm of My Heart,” and “Unplugged…And Seated,” with his interpretation of Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately” topping the charts.

Throughout the 2,000s, Stewart continued to entertain with his Great American Songbook albums and other genre-specific collections, including ones for rock and soul. Later this month, he’ll release his 32nd studio album, Swing Fever, a salute to the big band era. The rest of 2024 includes more tour dates and his Las Vegas residency.