Britney Spears $200m music catalogue sale is all about ‘correcting history’: sources

Britney Spears has sold her music catalogue for a rumored $200 million – in a deal that is all about “correcting history”, Page Six is told.

The biggest pop star of the 2000s – whose headline-grabbing personal history has frequently overshadowed her work – say the move is all to ensure her long-lasting legacy.

At 44, Mississippi-born Spears has seemingly lived multiple lifetimes, from “Mickey Mouse Club” kid to chart-topping sexpot and embattled fixture of the tabloids.

But after signing the deal with Primary Wave, a private music publishing company based in New York City, she has made the first move to ensure she will forever be a legend.

“This is Britney f—ing Spears, who shaped pop culture, influenced every artist, and still does,” as a friend told Page Six. “It’s not all about the drama, and it’s time for the world to treat her with some f—ing respect.”

Spears made the deal official on Dec. 30, according to legal records. It means she signed away her share of the rights to her most famous hits including “… Baby One More Time,” and “Oops! … I Did It Again,” but she retains all rights to her name, image and likeness.

So, what does it all mean for the “Toxic” singer – and why choose to sell now?

“It is about honoring her legacy,” said the friend, simply.

Forbes calculated the Primary Wave deal has doubled Spears’ personal fortune — estimating she now has a net worth of around $150 million.

The outlet last estimated Spears’ net worth at $60 million in 2021 — far below pop stars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Rihanna, all of whom are now billionaires. 

But none of them have undergone anything remotely as traumatic as Spears, who was forced to pay out millions in legal fees trying to free herself from her father Jamie’s control. 

In 2008, Spears was involuntarily placed in a conservatorship managed by Jamie and a lawyer, and spent 13 years with no control of her assets or finances. After a public campaign and numerous court hearings she was   released from the conservatorship in 2021. She claimed she was “lucky to be alive” and blamed her own family for mistreating her.

“Thirteen years went by with me feeling like a shadow of myself… my father and his associates having control over my body and my money … makes me feel sick,” Spears wrote in her 2023 memoir, “The Woman in Me”.

Court documents in 2020 revealed her assets were mostly held in various brokerage accounts, real estate and cash. 

While under conservatorship, Spears delivered four albums and four world tours, as well as a Las Vegas residency that ran from 2013 to 2017, grossing $137.7 million. However, her public mental health breakdown and scandal surrounding the conservatorship pushed brand deals away, which hit Spears’ earnings hard. 

Her last album, “Glory,” was released in 2016, and she hasn’t been on the road since the 2018 “Piece of Me” tour.

Forbes estimated that Spears earned about $170 million from the Primary Wave deal before taxes, but after fees paid to her team, her post-tax take-home pay will be closer to $70 million.

Until September 2024, Britney was also spending $5 million a year as part of an agreement with her former husband, Kevin Federline, who had custody of their sons Sean Preston, now 20, and Jayden James, now 19. The agreement ended on Jayden’s 18^th birthday.

Although it’s certainly intriguing how Spears waited until now to sell her catalogue, we’re told the timing has nothing to do with Federline. Last year he made a series of outlandish accusations against his ex in his memoir, including that she would stand over her young sons as they slept while holding a knife.

Spears quickly fired back, saying Federline was merely still trying to “profit” off her after the child support had ended. “All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism,” a statement read.

“Kevin has nothing to do with the music,” noted a source in the know. 

Despite everything – including, we’re told, Spears’ business affairs being “mismanaged” by former managers – “She is not and has not been low on money at all,” the friend insisted, “it had nothing to do with her current financial situation.”

For the majority of her career, Spears, who has sold nearly 150 million records, was signed to Jive Records. Following a restructuring in 2011, she was moved to RCA Records.

“She was only making 2-3 percent royalties on her three biggest first albums. Most artists get 20-25 percent, so it was really about course correcting history,” the friend added.

Although Spears has written songs on the majority of her albums, apart from “Everytime” she is not credited as a writer on her biggest hits, meaning her cut of the profits from sales, radio play and streaming is less than stars who write all their own material.

Clayton Durant, Adjunct Professor of Music Business at Long Island University’s Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment explained that Britney’s deal with Primary Wave represents a new chapter, “one in which Britney was able to make a decision about her music on her own terms,” Durant added.

Most artists also make their money from touring now, and many say now would be a great time for Spears to come back.

And the mid-2000s heyday of Britney’s career is having a resurgence in popular culture too, making her a star in prime position for a comeback.

Alongside that, we’re told there is now a script for the movie version of Spears’ memoir, with “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu at the helm.

Chu has promised to “do her justice”, noting Spears will be “very involved” in the film’s development.

The Oscar-nominated director said he wants to explore how the public treats female stars.  

As a music insider told us, “Let’s be honest, there’s still a huge amount of sexism in the music industry, if Britney had got up in her underwear and sang off-key like Justin Bieber just did at the Grammys, people would say she’s crazy,”

As Page Six has reported, friends have had very real fears for “fragile” Spears after the end of her short-lived marriage to Sam Asghari in July 2023, particularly as there has been no legal provision in place to care for her since the end of the conservatorship.

She has seemingly used Instagram as her lifeline, giving fans a glimpse into her day-to-day life. But she has sparked fears by dancing with knives – which she later clarified were props – and some people have been confused by videos of herself dancing scantily-clad from her home in Thousand Oaks, CA.

“She is doing great and has been with her boys a lot and hanging out with friends,” however, her friend said, “She is in an amazing, amazing place.”

Whether that means she’ll be recording a new album or getting ready to tour again, remains to be seen, but fans are hopeful of a new era for Britney.

“We may only be scratching the surface of how expansive her superstardom can be when her catalogue is activated in a way that both honors her legacy and broadens her global fanbase,” Durant added.