Bruce Springsteen has signed a worldwide administration deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, bringing his catalog under a single global roof for the first time in his career. Previously, Springsteen's catalog was split between Downtown Music Publishing in the United States and Sony/ATV in the United Kingdom, among others.
The new deal, first reported by the New York Post earlier this month and confirmed by UMPG today, covers all of his future work as well as his back catalog, including albums like Born To Run, Born In the U.S.A. and The River, as well as the songs he's written that were famously covered by others such as Rage Against the Machine ("The Ghost of Tom Joad"), Mary J. Blige ("American Skin (41 Shots)") and David Bowie ("It's Hard To Be a Saint In the City"), among others.
"During a career spanning more than 40 years, Bruce Springsteen has amassed one of the most iconic catalogs of songs in the history of music," said UMPG chairman/CEO Jody Gerson in a statement announcing the news. "As an artist, his demand for excellence and his requirement for heart and passion in everything that you do is the standard for how we operate every day at UMPG. We are thrilled to put the entire global resources of our company into expanding the popularity of his music and creating exciting new fan experiences."
Springsteen's catalog, recorded over a 40-plus-year period for Columbia Records beginning with his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., still sells well, and it helped land the icon at No. 3 on Billboard's annual Money Makers list this year; his publishing generated $415,200 for him in 2016, according to Billboard's calculations. Springsteen joins a company that has also added the likes of Zeddand Jack White earlier in 2017. UMPG ranked as the third-largest publisher in the first quarter of 2017, with a 14.89 percent market share.
“We are thrilled to be working with Jody Gerson and her team," longtime manager Jon Landau said in a statement. "After 40 productive years of working with the leading independents, it is now time for us to centralize Bruce’s publishing. UMPG combines putting the artist first with creating, leading and managing the incredible changes occurring in the world of publishing. At this point in Bruce’s legendary songwriting career, they are an ideal fit.”
