The rights and royalty deals just keep on rolling, as Randy Newman recently sold his music catalog to Litmus Records. Newman joins a highly exclusive group of musicians such as Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, and many others to do the same. It seems nowadays, a rite of passage for older artists is scoring a huge IP deal. After all, once they’ve won the awards, garnered the induction, and topped the charts—What else is left to do?
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That being so, it seems Newman realizes this fact and Litmus Records made it an opportunity of it. The deal will have all of Newman’s music, including his hit Toy Story song, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” Other notable tunes on the list that might mike Litmus a few bucks are “I Love L.A.,” “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” and “Feels Like Home.”
Litmus Records’ Deal
Unlike many deals of this magnitude, Litmus’ deal with Newman did not disclose a dollar amount. However, Litmus executives did transparently comment on the deal and its excitement. Co-founder and CCO Dan McCarroll stated, “[We] couldn’t be more proud and excited to acquire Randy’s catalog of beautiful, witty, and sharply observational songs.”
Litmus co-founder and CEO Hank Forsyth also shared, “Randy’s music has touched so many generations” and “The entire Litmus team are so grateful Randy has trusted us as his partner to care for these songs and recordings. It is an honor and responsibility we don’t take lightly.” Despite not disclosing details about how Newman’s music will be repurposed. Other deals of this nature have often sold the songs to production companies, remastered and reissued tracks and albums, as well as released previously unreleased material.
The Successful History of Randy Newman
It is no surprise that Litmus purchased Randy Newman’s catalog. The man has been nominated for 23 Grammys and won seven, won an Academy Award, has multiple top 40 albums, and has spent a vast amount of time on the charts. Needless to say, this is a win-win for both parties.
Even though deals of this kind might seem like musicians are sending themselves out to pasture. They seemingly do so merely because they no longer want to manage their own music, and want it to live on in the best way possible. Thanks to this deal, Randy Newman’s musical lifespan will now surely be longer than it was already going to be.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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