Robbie Robertson sells music rights
TORONTO — Robbie Robertson is taking a load off with the sale of music rights for his six-decade career.
The 78-year-old Toronto-born performer has struck a deal with Iconoclast, a new Los Angeles investment firm, for ownership of his recorded interests and music publishing rights covering his career to date.
Robertson’s career spans an array of defining rock songs, including his early work with the Hawks, influential hits Up on Cripple Creek, The Shape I’m In, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, as well as work on the scores on numerous Martin Scorsese films.
Financial details were not disclosed for the desal, which also covers Robertson’s name, image and likeness rights.
The transaction is the latest in what has become a whirlwind of music rights acquisitions.
It kicked off around the start of the pandemic as older artists looked for an exit plan from their assets and younger musicians searched for financial stability as tours became an unreliable source of income.
Iconoclast is a newcomer to the scene headed by Olivier Chastan, who previously oversaw the purchase of music catalogues for David Crosby and Linda Ronstadt at Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group.