21-03-2025
The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate Sells Rights to Catalog and Name, Image, and Likeness
The post The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate Sells Rights to Catalog and Name, Image, and Likeness appeared first on Consequence.
The estate of the Notorious B.I.G. has sold a stake in the late Brooklyn rapper's music publishing and recordings, as well as certain name, image, and likeness rights, to Primary Wave Music.
Although the deal closed just weeks after the death of the artist's mother, Voletta Wallace, multiple reports say she was involved in nearly all of the business negotiations.
No terms of the deal have been disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal reports Primary Wave is taking a 50% share of the estate, which was valued at $200 million.
The WSJ also reported that Voletta Wallace had negotiated with Sean 'Diddy' Combs to gain full control of her son's publishing rights. Initially, the Notorious B.I.G. had a 50-50 split of his publishing with Bad Boy at the time of his passing. However, Wallace convinced Combs to increase the estate's stake to 85% in the early 2000s, and then acquired the remaining portion in 2020.
'The estate and Primary Wave will collaborate on all business moving forward in an effort to continue the incredible and innovative work done thus far with one goal in mind, to keep the legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. alive,' the company said in a statement.
Despite being murdered at the age of 24, the Notorious B.I.G. is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. During his lifetime, Biggie recorded his 1994 debut, Ready to Die, and his posthumously released 1997 double album, Life After Death, spawning hits like 'Juicy,' 'One More Chance,' 'Mo Money Mo Problems,' and more.
A pair of posthumous albums, Born Again and Duets: The Final Chapter, were released in 1999 and 2005, but were not of the same quality as the material Biggie made while he was still alive.
In recent years, Primary Wave has acquired the catalog of artists like Prince and the Doors.
See where Ready to Die and 'Juicy' made our respective lists of the best hip-hop albums and best hip-hop songs of all time.
The Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate Sells Rights to Catalog and Name, Image, and Likeness Eddie Fu
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