The Weeknd has signed a unique deal with Lyric Capital Group reportedly worth $1 billion that will see the two sides form a business venture in which Lyric will invest in the Canadian artist's entire catalogue through 2025.
Variety reports that The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) and his team (including manager Wassim "Sal" Slaiby) will continue to maintain creative control and ownership over the catalogue and remain shareholders and owners in the company.
The deal only includes the music masters and publishing up until 2025 and is said not to include any future releases by The Weeknd. He will continue to work with his label, XO/Republic/Universal Music Group, and his publisher, Universal Music Publishing Group.
A rep for the artist tells Variety that the joint venture is not a conventional deal, saying, “From the beginning of the meeting, it was clear to all at Lyric that Abel would not sell his catalogue. He wanted to be more innovative and creative in the way we established a partnership. To that end, through this venture, we constructed and launched a new business model with Abel and his iconic catalogue whereby Abel and his team have the freedom to execute their creative vision with the entirety of his rights, both publishing and masters. This unique catalogue deal sets a new standard for artist equity and control.”
Because of its unusual terms, the rep added that it is not possible to calculate an actual value for the deal, however, sources tell Billboard the deal "can be described as raising $1 billion for The Weeknd’s music assets, of which 75% was raised through debt, with Lyric Capital Partners holding a 25% equity stake in the artist catalogue."
One billion seems to be The Weeknd's lucky number in 2025. Just last month his After Hours Til Dawn Tour topped the $1 billion mark in ticket sales.
The only other artist to reach the $1 billion mark for a catalogue deal is Queen, who sold theirs to Sony in 2024 for $1.27 billion dollars.