Round Hill Music has officially purchased “a significant share of the master artist royalties” of Heart guitarist and backing vocalist Nancy Wilson.
11-year-old Round Hill Music and 67-year-old Nancy Wilson announced their deal today, via a formal release that was emailed to DMN. This message notes at the outset that the purchasing company completed the transaction specifically through its Round Hill Music Royalty Fund.
In addition to the initially noted “significant share” of Wilson’s recorded catalog, the partnership encompasses “a long-term agreement to administer the neighbouring rights income” of the guitarist, whose band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
The release doesn’t disclose the deal’s financial terms, but Heart has sold north of 35 million records since debuting with 1975’s Dreamboat Annie. Across 15 other studio albums – the newest of which being 2016’s Beautiful Broken – Heart has dropped well-known tracks including “Crazy On You” (1975), “Barracuda” (1977), “Alone” (1987), and “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” (1990).
(Ann and Nancy Wilson have songwriting credits on “Barracuda” and “Crazy On You,” with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly having penned “Alone” and Robert John Lange having written “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You.”)
Addressing the deal in a brief statement, Nancy Wilson said: “I’m honored to be working with the good people at Round Hill and am looking forward to an ongoing working relationship.” And Round Hill Music founder and CEO Josh Gruss, in a statement of his own, acknowledged Heart’s accomplishments and Wilson’s role in the band’s success.
“Heart are a band who have earned their place in rock and roll immortality and Nancy has played a pivotal role in their astonishing success over the last 45 years. She is an icon and the longevity of her music is a testament to her incredible talent,” said Gruss.
Today’s music-IP purchase from Round Hill represents one of many such transactions that have arrived since the start of 2020 and, more recently, since the beginning of 2022. This year’s first 13 days alone have brought deals between America, Matt Redman, and Primary Wave; John Legend and BMG; and the David Bowie estate and Warner Chappell.
In a broader sense, these multimillion-dollar transactions have come to fruition as catalog music – meaning tracks that are over 18 months old – remains decidedly popular. For reference, America boasts 5.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, against 6.01 million for Heart and 1.37 million for Matt Redman.