According to Variety, the agreement includes a buyout of the band’s publishing catalogue and their income from recorded royalties and performance royalties.
ZZ Top – who released their debut album in 1971 and released 14 more over the course of their 50-year career – have sold more than 50 million albums worldwide.
While BMG and KKR announced in March that they would partner up for music IP, they have largely worked separately in the months since, with BMG acquiring catalogs from Tina Turner and Motley Crue, while KKR’s Chord Music acquired a catalog from Kobalt for around $1.1 billion.
Previously, BMG served as co-publisher and administrator of ZZ Top’s publishing catalog.
“We are proud to continue working with and expand our long-standing relationship with BMG,” says ZZ Top manager Carl Stubner of Shelter Music Group. “This new deal ensures ZZ Top’s remarkable legacy will endure for generations to come.”
This past summer, ZZ Top enlisted longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis to handle bass duties on a 2021 tour after Dusty Hill stepped away from the trek to address a hip issue; Hill passed away in his sleep at his home in Houston, TX a few days later.
ZZ Top delivered the No. 7 Rock News Story of The Year and were named the No. 3 Rock News Artist Of The Year as part of the 2021 hennemusic Rock News Awards.
See also:
Rock News Artist Of The Year No. 3: ZZ TOP
Rock News Story Of The Year No. 7: ZZ TOP
ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons shares Jingle Bell Blues animated video
ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons streams new single Jingle Bell Blues
Search ZZ Top at hennemusic
