The Weeknd just made a billionaire-level chess move and didn’t even give up the board.
Abel Tesfaye has finalized a landmark catalog partnership with Lyric Capital, a deal widely reported to be valued around $1 billion. Yes, billion with a B. But before you lump this in with the recent wave of legacy artists cashing out their catalogs, pause. This isn’t a sell-off. It’s a flex.
Unlike traditional catalog sales where artists hand over the keys and walk away rich but creatively sidelined, The Weeknd structured something different. Smarter. He and his team remain shareholders, owners, and most importantly, creatively in control of his masters and publishing through 2025. Lyric Capital gets a stake in one of the most streamed catalogs on the planet. Abel keeps the steering wheel.
According to representatives, this is a joint venture, not a conventional catalog purchase. From the jump, Tesfaye was clear he wasn’t interested in selling his life’s work. Instead, he wanted a model that let him monetize at peak value without turning his music into a passive asset controlled by someone else.
The result is what insiders are already calling a new standard for artist equity and control. Lyric Capital reportedly built a first-of-its-kind structure around the deal, including a “Royalty Backed Note,” designed to keep the arrangement artist-friendly while still delivering long-term value for investors.
While neither side has confirmed numbers, industry reports peg the valuation at at least $1 billion, based on roughly $55 million in annual net revenue from label and publishing shares. That implies an eye-watering multiple and puts this among the largest single-artist catalog deals ever. The only publicly larger one? Sony’s $1.27 billion acquisition of Queen’s catalog.
Except Queen’s deal was about legacy. The Weeknd’s is about dominance right now.
With over 120 million monthly Spotify listeners and an “After Hours ‘Til Dawn” tour that has already crossed $1 billion in gross, Tesfaye isn’t preserving a past era. He’s monetizing a still-raging one.
This deal lands like a warning shot. For artists, especially Gen Z and millennial superstars, it proves you don’t have to choose between ownership and generational wealth. You can have both if you negotiate from power and think long-term.
For labels, publishers, and investors, the message is clear: the next era of catalog deals won’t be about extraction. They’ll be about collaboration.
The Weeknd didn’t just secure the bag. He rewrote the contract. And the industry is officially on notice.