It now seems like an unstoppable trend: singers and authors at the end of their careers or heirs and managers of the assets of dead artists sell the rights to exploit the image and/or catalog for millions of dollars. Sometimes these are acquisitions, sometimes partnership agreements for the exploitation of the music and the name in a period in which for certain “historical” artists a source of potential income is the synchronizations and the realization of various projects including cinematographic ones.
The latest news concerns Donna Summer, the disco diva who passed away in 2012 and whose catalog includes hits such as I Feel Love And Hot Stuff. Those who manage its assets have entered into a partnership with Primary Wave. The aim of the agreement, a bit like the one made with Pete Townshend, is the exploitation not only of the recordings, but also of the rights relating to the image and name of the artist through marketing, branding and synchronization operations, as well as the creation of film and television projects.
Among the artists (or their heirs) who have signed agreements with Primary Wave there are Axl Rose, Prince, Stevie Nicks, Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Notorious BIG, Ray Charles, Britney Spears, Ozzy Osborune. The company also secured the exploitation of the work of Aubrey “Po” Powell of the Hipgnosis studio, famous for the Pink Floyd covers (which however are not included in the agreement).
