Jack White is selling a stake in his catalog to Sony Music, a source familiar with the matter confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.
White is selling only a portion of the catalog, the source says, though it’s not clear how much he has sold. Also unknown is how much Sony is paying for its stake. Per the source, who requested anonymity as they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the acquisition, the deal closed earlier this summer. It encompasses rights from his recordings across his career, from his work with The White Stripes to his solo career, as well as recordings with his bands The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.
White and Sony have done business together in the past; Sony flagship record label Columbia had signed White for a solo record deal back in 2012 in partnership with White’s Third Man Records after the White Stripes had disbanded.
A rep for Sony Music declined to comment on the matter; a rep for White didn’t respond to request for comment.
White has long been a trendsetter in the music business, and with the White Stripes, he was one of the earlier artists to take control of his recorded catalog, housing his recordings through Third Man Records. A source familiar with the matter, without confirming any details, says that White maintains control of his recordings. The deal doesn’t encompass any future recordings from White.
White is one of the most prolific rock stars of his generation, first coming to stardom in the early 2000s as the singer, guitarist and primary songwriter of The White Stripes. The Detroit duo became one of the most influential bands of the 2000s, combining their inventive blues rock sound with a distinct visual aesthetic, marked by a commitment to their red, white and black color scheme.
The band released six albums including the much-lauded White Blood Cells and Elephant, winning six Grammys from 2004 through 2011. The White Stripes penned several hits such as “We’re Going to Be Friends” and “Fell in Love With a Girl,” though their biggest song is “Seven Nation Army,” which went double-platinum thanks to an iconic guitar riff that has since become a ubiquitous rallying cry at sporting events worldwide. The White Stripes will officially be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this November.
White found success on his own and with his other bands as well, too. With the Raconteurs, he had hits with tracks like “Steady, As She Goes,” and “Salute Your Solution,” and their albums Consolers of the Lonely and Broken Boy Soldiers both were nominated for the Grammy for best rock album. All three of the Dead Weather’s albums debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard chart, and the first three of his solo albums all hit Number One.
He dropped his sixth solo album No Name last year as a surprise release, first giving out the record for free to customers at his Third Man Records stores in Nashville, Detroit and London before widely releasing it two weeks later. No Name earned a Grammy nomination for best rock album.
This is far from Sony’s first acquisition from an iconic rock act in the past several years. In 2021, the company bought Bruce Springsteen’s recording and publishing catalogs for around $500 million, while in 2022, the company acquired Bob Dylan’s recorded catalog. Earlier this year the company purchased publishing company Hipgnosis Songs Group.
News of the deal comes as White was generating headlines last month over his criticism of Donald Trump. August 18, White shared an Instagram post critiquing Trump’s “vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy” redesign of the Oval Office, which inspired a Trump official to call White a “washed up, has-been loser.” White responded on Wednesday, posting a scorched earth, multiple page response on his concern that Trump “is a danger to not just America but the whole world.”
“I’m a human being raised in Detroit,” White said in his post. “I’m an artist who’s owned his own businesses like his own upholstery shop and recording label since he was 21 years old, who has enough street sense to know when a 3 card monte dealer is a cheap grifter and a thief.”