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Many artists see owning the majority (or all) of their publishing rights as a wise business move, however, in some cases, the sale can be rather lucrative. Artists such as John Legend, James Brown, Luther Vandross and now Public Enemy frontman, Chuck D, are part of a group of talents that have sold the rights to their music.
Chuck D recently sold a stake in his music catalog to his publisher, Reach Music. Reach Music is championed as “a full-service independent music publishing company with a truly global footprint.” The company represents a variety of songwriters, producers and recording artists such as Warren G, Common, Maino and more.
The acquisition includes 300 Songs penned by the leader and co-founder of Public Enemy, according to Variety. Of those 300 songs, hits such as “Welcome to the Terrordome,” “Fight the Power,” “9-1-1 Is A Joke” and “He Got Game.” Chuck D’s songwriting contributions to Public Enemy albums cover a 25-year span from 1987 through 2012, and will now belong to Reach Music.
Although Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and DJ Terminator X dominated the airwaves as a collective, Chuck D wrote most of the classics they’re known for.
Variety noted that another component of the deal features a 50% copyright interest coupled with 100% of the writer’s share. The 62-year-old rap veteran stated, “Mike Closter (Reach Music President) and everyone at Reach have been handling my song catalog for well over 20 years, and doing this deal was the right timing for a forward and logical evolution of our business together in an ever-changing industry.”
Closter followed with his own remarks stating, “I’m so grateful to Chuck for our business together as his music publisher throughout these many decades.” Closter also has plans to keep the rapper’s work circulating to new generations. He added, “The team at Reach will continue working hard to protect these works while also introducing them to new generations to come.”
Throughout his career, Chuck D has accumulated a variety of titles including musician, actor, film producer, film score composer, political activist, record producer and more. Celebrity Net Worth puts the emcee’s earned net worth at an estimated $14 million.
It is expected that his net worth will increase as a result of the acquisition, although exact figures for the sale have not been disclosed.
