Keith Urban has reportedly sold his master recordings catalogue.
The newly established music rights company Litmus, which was founded in August by industry veterans Hank Forsyth and Dan McCarroll and is funded by Carlyle Global Credit, purchased the country singer’s masters, according to Billboard.
The sale includes 10 studio albums as well as a greatest hits package, and also includes an agreement to collaborate on Urban’s future releases.
Urban has so far released 12 studio albums over the course of his career, but the first (a self-titled project from 1991) was released only in Australia, and the second was released under the short-lived country trio the Ranch, which Urban fronted. The dollar amount that the singer’s catalogue sold for has not been made public.
“I have the deepest respect for Keith, his incredible talent and his passion for making great music,” says McCarroll, who previously served as president for both Warner Brothers Records and Capitol Records. “He’s a musically insatiable musician, record maker, performer and songwriter.”
“It’s an honor to partner with Keith and represent songs that reflect his integrity, character and musicianship,” adds Forsyth, who has a background as executive VP at Warner Chappell and GM at Blue Note. “Dan and I and the entire Litmus team are so grateful Keith has trusted us to care for what he has given so much to create.”
Earlier in November, the singer told Billboard that he is “feverishly” working with producer Dann Huff to finish his next album, which he hopes will be out sooner rather than later in 2023.
Other stars who recently sold their masters catalogs include Kenny Chesney, who parted ways with 80 percent of his catalog in January, as well as Blake Shelton, who sold his recordings from 2010-2019 in October.
