Members of Primal Scream have sold a 50 per cent stake of their song rights to BMG, along with their neighbouring rights.
The band’s frontman Bobby Gillespie, guitarist Andrew Innes and the estate of late bassist, guitarist and keyboardist Robert Young, have all struck a deal with the publishing arm of the label.
BMG now owns 50 per cent of the three musicians’ song rights to the entire Primal Scream back catalogue, from their 1987 debut ‘Screamadelica’ to their latest album, 2016’s ‘Chaosmosis’. The label has also purchased the trio’s neighbouring rights – the public performance right that is paid to performing artists, rather than a song’s writers or publishers – in full.
“Primal Scream are one of the most influential bands of the past 30 years with a cultural resonance which continues today,” Alistair Norbury, BMG’s president of repertoire and marketing UK, said. “We are delighted to become custodians of their work.”
Neither Gillespie or Innes has commented publicly on the deal at the time of writing.
The Primal Scream deal follows BMG acquiring the rights to catalogues by other top artists in recent years, including Mötley Crüe, Tina Turner and Mick Fleetwood. The company claims that its latest deal is the first of its kind with a UK artist.
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Meanwhile, this summer, Primal Scream will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the seminal ‘Screamadelica’, performing the record in full on a UK tour. The run of dates will kick off in Glasgow on July 1 and conclude in Cardiff on July 22, with a stop along the way at London’s Alexandra Palace Park. You can view ticket details here.
Last year, the group marked the three-decade milestone of ‘Screamadelica’ with a 12-inch singles box set and double-vinyl picture disc. ‘Demodelica’ – an album of unreleased material boasting early demos and work-in-progress mixes – followed later.