Alternative metal standouts Deftones have cashed in on their catalog according to a new report from Billboard. Citing unnamed sources, the publication claim that the group were seeking a ‘mid-to high-double-digit multiple’ for the rights to various aspects of their catalog, with Warner Music Group having ponied up the dough. As Billboard put it:
‘That multiple refers to how many times net label share and net publisher’s share (a.k.a. gross profit) can be divided into the valuation price. While publishing deals usually carry a higher multiple than master-recording royalties, that gap has been narrowing in recent years. Today, music assets generally trade — depending on the catalog’s heritage and the rights involved — in a 12- to 18-times-multiple range, though superstar artists and songwriters have been known to achieve above 20-times multiples.’
Per Billboard‘s sources, the sale includes the band’s master-recording royalties, their co-publishing stake and writer’s royalties. Due to their long-time association with the label, Warner Music Group already owned the band’s master recordings, with the band’s publishing arrangement also being in-house through Warner Chappell. Billboard further report that while the majority of the band sold their rights, one member opted to retain their share of publishing and master recording royalties.
Billboard also note that the sale apparently took place within the last two years, with an exact date of it being finalized publicly unknown. Deftones‘ catalog has exploded over the past few years, as generations of new fans found out about the band through a viral wave of interest via TikTok. That expanding fandom has elevated the band to arena headliners and seen their back catalog consistently surge back into the charts. Last July saw numerous releases from the Deftones discography newly awarded platinum and gold status in the United States.
This past December alone saw their 1997 sophomore album “Around The Fur” jump to #3 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. The groundswell of interest in all things Deftones hasn’t gone unnoticed by the group, with frontman Chino Moreno proclaiming last August, “We literally are bigger than we’ve ever been in our almost 30-year existence.”
Whether or not the band managed to cash in at the perfect time remains unknown. The valuation of the deal would have reflected the level of fan demand for the catalog, and the past year or so has seen interest in those albums reach a fever pitch.
