Country music icon Garth Brooks is reportedly considering selling his music catalog, a move that could set a new record in the industry. If the speculations hold true, this transaction might become the largest of its kind to date.
The Wall Street Journal suggests that Brooks is aiming to sell his catalog for an astonishing price, potentially reaching around $2 billion.
To put that into perspective, this is not a $200 million or $500 million deal—it’s a monumental two billion dollars.
Should this sale come to fruition near the speculated amount, it would not only rank among the largest music rights deals ever struck by a solo artist but could also propel Brooks to the top of the wealthiest singers globally.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A $2 Billion Catalog?
The proposed sale encompasses both Brooks’ publishing rights, associated with songwriting, and his recorded music rights, which involve the master tracks.
This dual inclusion is significant because many catalog sales typically involve only one aspect. Acquiring both the compositions and recordings grants the buyer a more comprehensive stake in the revenue from albums, streaming services, licensing, physical sales, synchronization rights, and any future opportunities.
A $2 billion price tag would place Brooks in extremely rare company. Here are some of the largest known music catalog deals:
- Queen: Sony reportedly acquired Queen’s catalog for more than $1 billion in 2024.
- Michael Jackson: Sony purchased a 50% stake in Michael Jackson’s catalog in 2024, reportedly valuing the full catalog at more than $1.2 billion.
- Bruce Springsteen: Springsteen sold his masters and publishing rights to Sony in 2021 for a reported $500 million to $550 million.
- Pink Floyd: Sony reportedly acquired Pink Floyd’s recorded music catalog, plus name and likeness rights, for roughly $400 million in 2024.
- Bob Dylan: Dylan sold his songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group in 2020 for a reported $300 million to $400 million, then later sold his recorded music rights to Sony.
- Sting: Sting sold his songwriting catalog, including solo songs and songs from The Police, to Universal Music Publishing Group in 2022 for a reported figure north of $300 million.
Even against that backdrop, a $2 billion Garth Brooks sale would be extraordinary, especially if the deal included both Brooks’ publishing and recorded music rights.
The Richest Singer In The World?
CelebrityNetWorth currently estimates Garth Brooks’ net worth at $400 million. If you want to get technical, though, his net worth without wife Tricia Yearwood is $350 million.
On our list of the richest singers in the world, Garth currently ranks #15. Taylor Swift’s net worth of $1.8 billion makes her the #1 richest singer in the world. Rihanna is #2 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, and Selena Gomez is #3 with a net worth of $1 billion. Also, please note that if we include rappers as singers, Jay-Z would be the richest in the world with a net worth of $2.8 billion.
Garth primarily lives in no-income-tax states like Tennessee and Florida, so any windfall would only be subject to FEDERAL long-term capital gains. All in, he would pay around $476 million in taxes on a $2 billion sale. He would net $1.524 billion. And that woudl leave him with a final new net worth of…
$1.874 billion
And that would be $74 million richer than Taylor Swift’s current $1.8 billion fortune.
Perhaps most interestingly, unlike many extremely rich musicians who actually made their fortunes away from music (for example, Selena Gomez and Rihanna, who made the majority of their fortunes off makeup and clothing lines, respectively), Brooks would get there by selling the actual music that made him famous.
Why Garth Brooks Is A Unique Catalog Case
Garth Brooks is not just a country star. He is one of the defining figures in modern country music.
His run in the 1990s turned country into stadium-scale entertainment. Albums such as “No Fences,” “Ropin’ the Wind,” “The Chase,” “In Pieces,” “Sevens,” and “Double Live” sold in numbers that seem almost fictional today. His biggest songs, including “Friends in Low Places,” “The Dance,” “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “The River,” “Unanswered Prayers,” “Shameless,” and “Thunder Rolls,” became staples of American music.
According to the RIAA, Brooks has sold 200 million albums in the United States, more than the Beatles’ 183 million. He is also the only artist with 10 Diamond-certified albums, meaning 10 separate albums have reached at least 10 million sales.
What makes the catalog especially interesting is how carefully Brooks has controlled it.
For years, he resisted the digital music economy. He opposed the idea of breaking albums into individual song downloads. He kept his music off many major streaming platforms. He built his own digital store. In 2016, he signed an exclusive streaming deal with Amazon Music, which made his catalog available there while preserving his preference for album-based listening.
That made Brooks a rare superstar whose catalog has not been fully opened up to the broader streaming ecosystem.
The Streaming Upside
A major reason music catalogs became so valuable over the last decade is that streaming made old songs newly profitable. A classic hit can now generate revenue every time someone streams it, adds it to a playlist, uses it in a video, or discovers it through an algorithm.
Brooks complicates that model because his music has not been as widely available as many comparable superstar catalogs. That could limit current revenue. But it could also mean a buyer sees massive untapped potential.
If a new owner could put Brooks’ music broadly on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Peloton, film, television, commercials, and other modern platforms, the catalog might have a second commercial life.
The buyer would not just be buying what the catalog earns today. The buyer would be betting on what it might earn if the Garth Brooks catalog finally became as frictionless and widely available as other major catalogs.
One obstacle to the $2 billion dream number: country music is still more domestically concentrated than many other genres. A buyer paying close to $2 billion would need to believe Brooks’ American dominance and underexploited streaming position justify a price usually reserved for the most global catalogs.
There is also the issue of control. Would Brooks allow a buyer to market the songs in ways he previously resisted? Could the catalog be licensed aggressively into commercials, films, TV shows, and social platforms?
The Ultimate Cash-Out
For decades, Garth Brooks has been an outlier. He became one of the biggest-selling artists in American history while rejecting many of the music industry’s standard assumptions. He emphasized albums when the industry moved toward singles. He protected his catalog when others embraced every platform.
Now, that control may be worth billions.
A $2 billion sale would represent the ultimate payoff for one of the most commercially successful music careers ever assembled. It would be a historic transaction for country music and a dramatic reshuffling of the celebrity wealth rankings.
The deal may not happen. The final price may come in lower. The structure may be more complicated than a simple cash sale.
But the fact that Garth Brooks is even having this conversation says a lot. He is one of the last truly unsold mega-catalog artists. If he decides to cash out, the payday could make him the richest singer on earth.
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