Patti LaBelle has closed on a deal with Primary Wave for the income stream from her royalties, the company confirmed Wednesday.
Primary Wave declined to disclose financial details of the deal, but the company said the acquisition includes the royalties across LaBelle’s entire catalog, which includes 18 studio albums and three live albums. LaBelle is one of the most iconic artists of her generation, best known for hits like “If Only You Knew,” “On My Own,” “New Attitude” and “Lady Marmalade.” That latter song, recorded by the girl group LaBelle, topped Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1974 and found renewed success after Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink and Lil’ Kim performed a cover of the track for the movie Moulin Rouge! in 2001. The Library of Congress selected LaBelle’s version for the National Recording Registry in 2020.
LaBelle is a two-time Grammy winner and has been nominated 13 times. She’s sold 50 million records, earning seven gold records in the process according to the RIAA, as well as a platinum record for her 1983 album Winner in You. That album featured “On My Own,” her Burt Bacharach-penned duet with Michael McDonald, which topped the Hot 100 for three weeks.
The deal marks yet another high-profile acquisition for Primary Wave this year. Back in March, the company finalized an acquisition for Biggie Smalls’ catalog, and in July, the company made a deal for original Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green’s catalog as well. It’s not the first time Primary Wave has carved out an artist royalty deal either, with the company acquiring the royalties of The Cars earlier this summer. Royalty deals have become more common amid the broader catalog acquisition boom of the past few years, with other musicians like Paul Simon and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins selling their royalty income streams as well.
“We are so honored to be in business with a legend such as Ms. LaBelle,” Primary Wave’s Steven Greener said in a statement. “She’s a true icon and trailblazer. We are looking forward to doing great things together.”
