This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Artist News Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
David Bowie’s later recordings to move to Warner in new deal
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 17 September 2021
The David Bowie estate has signed a new deal with Warner Music to bring the musician’s full recordings catalogue to the major label in 2023. The major already represents Bowie recordings from 1968 to 1999, with the remainder currently controlled by Sony Music.
Warner first got involved in Bowie’s recorded output in 2013, getting a big chunk of his catalogue via its acquisition of the one time EMI label Parlophone, which Universal was forced to sell when it bought the rest of the old EMI record company. The new deal encompasses his work from 2000 to 2016, up to final album ‘Blackstar’.
“It’s an incredible honour to have been chosen as the stewards of one of the most important and dynamic bodies of creative work in modern culture”, says Warner Music’s CEO For Recorded Music, Max Lousada. “The impact of Bowie’s repeated reinvention and endless experimentation continues to resonate around the world – through the genres he transformed, the timeless songs and sounds he invented, and the immeasurable influence he’s had on music, art, and fashion”.
“We’re excited that our expanded partnership with the Bowie estate will help us deliver innovative, career-spanning projects and attract new generations to his extraordinary musical universe”, he adds.
Kevin Gore, President Of Global Catalogue at Warner Recorded Music, says: “To be entrusted with this phenomenal body of work is truly gratifying. For the past eight years, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Bowie estate, collaborating on a fantastic series of releases”.
“Our entire catalogue team have taken great care to be thoughtful and steadfast in our promise to stay true to his artistic vision, while revealing previously unheard music and framing his genius in fresh contexts”, he goes on. “With the addition of his immensely powerful later work to the Warner Music portfolio, we’re looking forward to bringing Bowie’s music to fans across the globe for many years to come”.
A big part of Warner’s work with Bowie’s catalogue has been a series of ‘Era’ boxsets – the latest of which, covering 1992 to 2001, is due out later this year. Come 2023, I guess you can expect more of that sort of thing.
