The Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold the rights to their recorded catalog to Warner Music Group in a deal worth more than $300 million, sources familiar with the matter said. hollywood Reporter, With WMG acquiring the catalog through the company’s joint venture with Bain Capital.
WMG first announced its $1.2 billion joint venture catalog acquisition vehicle with Bain last July and stated in its May 7 earnings report that it had spent $650 million on catalogs since launching the joint venture, though the company did not specify what those acquisitions would be. The Chili Peppers deal represents roughly half of the joint venture’s announced spending, though it’s currently unclear what the rest went to.
Representatives for the band and WMG declined or did not respond to a request for comment.
The deal has long been rumored, with Bulletin board reported in February 2025 that the band was shopping its recording rights, while Music Business Worldwide speculated earlier this year that the project was targeting the Chili Peppers.
This isn’t the first time the group has sold music rights either. In 2021, the group sold its publishing catalog to Hipgnosis (now known as Recognition Music Group) in a deal worth $140 million. The copyright could change hands again soon, as Sony Music Group is currently in talks to acquire Recognition in a deal that could be worth billions of dollars. Other catalogs owned by Recognition include copyrights for Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, and Neil Young, among many others.
The Chili Peppers are one of the biggest rock bands of all time, with a huge catalog of hits including “Californication”, “Scar Tissue”, “Can’t Stop”, “Under the Bridge”, “Otherside” and many more. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame remains one of the biggest touring acts in the business as well, consistently selling out stadiums around the world.
Warner is a natural choice to sell the Chili Peppers since the band has been signed to major label Warner Records since the early 1990s, where they have released all of their albums since 1991 Blood Sugar Sex Magic.
The catalog acquisition space remains hot as all the major labels have partnered with outside investors to buy music rights. Aside from Warner, Universal Music Group holds a minority stake in Chord Music Partners, while Sony recently announced a venture with Singaporean company GIC.
