Rod Stewart Reportedly Sells Rights to His Song Catalog for Nearly $100 Million (2024)

Sir Rod Stewart is the latest artist to sell the rights to his song catalog.

The "Maggie May" hitmaker, 79, has teamed up with Iconic Artists Group for the sale, with the company — dedicated to preserving the legacies of legendary artists — looking to "develop, and expand his six-decade musical legacy to new generations of fans," a press release obtained by PEOPLE confirmed.

Stewart sold his interests in his publishing catalog and recorded music, along with some name and likeness rights, to music mogul Irving Azoff's Iconic for nearly $100 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The company has also raised $1 billion to invest in artists' music assets.

Representatives for Stewart did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on the value of the sale.

"This year marks my 60th year in the music industry. The time is right, and I feel fortunate to have found partners in Irving and his team at Iconic that I can entrust with my life’s work and future musical legacy,” Stewart said of the sale.

“We are thrilled to welcome one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of our time, Rod Stewart, to the Iconic family,” Azoff, Chairman and CEO of Iconic, added. "Our new partnership with HPS provides us with the resources and flexibility to make blockbuster signings like this one and to continue the success of our legendary artists and their legacies.”

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Stewart is a two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and has had countless hits over the years including "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?," "Sailing," "The First Cut Is the Deepest," "Hot Legs" and "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You."

He's had 16 Top 10 singles in the U.S., with Billboard ranking him as the 15th greatest artist of all time.

Meanwhile Cher, The Beach Boys, Joe co*cker, Nat King Cole and Linda Ronstadt are just a few artists among Iconic's star-studded roster.

Stewart's sale comes after it was reported in September that Katy Perry hadsold the rights to her songs and albumsreleased between 2008 and 2020 to Litmus Music for a reported $225 million, DeadlineandBillboard reported at the time.

The deal included Perry's five albums released through Capitol Records — 2008'sOne of the Boys, 2010'sTeenage Dream, 2013'sPrism, 2017'sWitness,and 2020'sSmile. It was reported that the albums' masters would continue to be owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol's parent company, perMusic Business Worldwide.

Perry has released some huge singles throughout her career, with seven of them reaching No. 1 on theBillboardHot 100: "I Kissed a Girl," "California Gurls," "Firework," "E.T.," "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," "Part of Me," "Roar" and "Dark Horse".

Keith Urban, Benny Blanco, and Justin Bieber are among the many big name artists to have sold the rights to their music over the years.