Britney Spears sold her music catalog for a rumored $200 million, but the deal was aimed at “revising history,” Page Six reports.
The biggest pop star of the 2000s, whose personal history has often overshadowed her professional career, says the move is all about ensuring her lasting legacy.
Spears, a 44-year-old Mississippi native, appears to have lived multiple lives, from Mickey Mouse Club kid to chart-topping sexpot to tabloid billboard.
But after signing a contract with Primary Wave, a private music publishing company based in New York City, she made the first move to remain a legend.
“This is the Britney of Spears who shaped pop culture and influenced and continues to influence artists everywhere,” a friend told Page Six. “It’s not all about the drama. It’s time for the world to treat her with respect.”
Spears officially announced the deal on Dec. 30, according to legal records. This means she has signed on for a share of the rights to her most famous hits, including “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops!…I Did It Again,” but she retains all rights to her name, image and likeness.
So what does that mean for the “Toxic” singer and why did he choose to sell now?
“This is to honor her legacy,” my friend said simply.
Forbes calculates that the deal with Primary Wave has doubled Spears’ personal wealth, estimating that her net worth is now around $150 million.
The outlet’s last estimate of Spears’ net worth in 2021 was $60 million, far below the current billionaires of pop stars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Rihanna.
But none of them has experienced anything less traumatic than Spears, who was forced to pay millions of dollars in legal fees to free herself from the clutches of her father, Jamie.
In 2008, Spears was involuntarily placed into a conservatorship managed by Jamie and her lawyer, where she spent 13 years without control over her assets or finances. After a public campaign and numerous court hearings, she was released from the conservatorship in 2021. She claimed she was “lucky to be alive” and blamed her family for abusing her.
“I spent 13 years feeling like a shadow of myself…with my father and his cronies controlling my body and my money…sick,” Spears wrote in her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me.
Court documents from 2020 revealed that most of her assets were held in various brokerage accounts, real estate, and cash.
During her conservatorship, Spears released four albums, four world tours, and a Las Vegas residency from 2013 to 2017, earning $137.7 million. But Spears’ declining mental health and conservatorship scandals sidelined her brand deals and took a toll on Spears’ bottom line.
Her last album, “Glory,” was released in 2016, and she has not toured since the “Piece of Me” tour in 2018.
Forbes estimates that Spears earned about $170 million before taxes on his contract with Primary Wave, but his after-tax take-home pay would be closer to $70 million after taking into account the fees he paid to the team.
Britney was spending $5 million a year until September 2024 as part of her agreement with ex-husband Kevin Federline to have custody of her sons Sean Preston, now 20, and Jayden James, now 19. This contract ended on Jayden’s 18th birthday.
It’s certainly interesting how Spears waited until now to sell her catalog, but the timing reportedly has nothing to do with Federline. Last year, he made a series of outlandish accusations against his ex-boyfriend in his memoir, including that she confronted his young sons while they were sleeping with a knife in their hands.
Ms. Spears quickly fired back, claiming that Mr. Federline was only trying to “profit” from her after her child support payments ended. “Her only concern is for her children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and their well-being in this sensational activity,” the statement read.
“Kevin has nothing to do with music,” said a source familiar with the matter.
Despite everything, including that Spears’ business operations were reportedly “mismanaged” by her former managers, “she’s never had any money problems, and she still doesn’t have money problems,” a friend insisted, “and it has nothing to do with her current financial situation.”
Spears, who sold approximately 150 million records for most of her career, was signed to Jive Records. After a reorganization in 2011, he moved to RCA Records.
“She was only making 2 to 3 percent in royalties on her three big first albums. Most artists were getting 20 to 25 percent, so this was really about turning history around,” the friend added.
Although Spears wrote most of the songs on the album, she is not credited as a lyricist for any of her biggest hits, with the exception of “Everytime.” That means they all get a smaller share of the profits from sales, radio play and streaming than stars who write their own songs.
Clayton Durant, an adjunct professor of music business at Long Island University’s Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment, said Britney’s deal with Primary Wave marks a new chapter, “a chapter in which Britney is now able to make her own decisions about her music.”
Nowadays, most artists also make money from touring, and many say now is the perfect time for Spears to make a comeback.
And the heyday of Britney’s career in the mid-2000s is being revived in pop culture, making her the star of a potential comeback.
In parallel, a script for a film version of Spears’ memoir is reportedly being completed, with Wicked director Jon M. Chu at the helm.
Director Chu promised to “do my justice” and said Spears would be “deeply involved” in the development of the film.
The Oscar-nominated director said he wanted to explore how the public treats female stars.
As one music source told us, “To be honest, there’s still a lot of sexism in the music industry. If Britney stood up in her underwear and sang off-key like Justin Bieber did at the Grammys, people would say she’s crazy.”
As Page Six reported, friends have very real fears for the “vulnerable” Spears after her short-lived marriage to Sam Asghari ended in July 2023, especially since there were no legal provisions to care for her since the end of her conservatorship.
She seems to be using Instagram as a lifeline, giving her fans a glimpse into her daily life. But she caused fear by dancing with a knife (which she later revealed was a prop), and some people were confused after seeing a video of her dancing scantily clad at her home in Thousand Oaks, California.
“She’s doing great, spending time with her sons and playing with her friends,” but a friend said: “She’s in a great, great place.”
Whether that means she’ll record a new album or get ready to tour again remains to be seen, but fans are looking forward to a new era for Britney.
“We may have just scratched the surface of how far her superstar status can expand as her catalog is revitalized in a way that honors her legacy and expands her global fan base,” Durant added.
