The Police frontman, Sting has sold the song rights to the band’s catalogue, along with his solo works, to Universal. Find out more about this mammoth sale here.

On the 10th of February, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) announced it had acquired 17-time GRAMMY Award winner, Sting’s catalogue of music. The worldwide agreement covers the iconic artist’s hits, including Roxanne, Every Breath You Take, Fields Of Gold, and Message In A Bottle.

Universal has been Sting’s label home for the entirety of his career. Speaking of the acquisition, the company named Sting as:

“One of the most commercially successful and critically-acclaimed songwriters of the last half-century.”

The exact financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, however it has been estimated the sale was for around $250 million.

This is far from the first large scale selling off of music rights to labels or investors. In recent years, the acquisition of major artists’ catalogues for eye-watering sums has become more and more frequent. Last year, Sony bought Bruce Springsteen’s complete catalogue for around $550 million. This covered his recorded music and songwriting, which fall under two different copyrights. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon, and Stevie Nicks are among some of the big names who have sold off the song rights to their catalogues lately.

Sting, whose real name is Gordon Summer, commented on the sale of his works, saying, “It is absolutely essential to me that my career’s body of work have a home where it is valued and respected. Not only to connect with longtime fans in new ways but also to introduce my songs to new audiences, musicians and generations.”

The British-born singer-songwriter, actor, activist, and ex-teacher has sold over 100 million albums worldwide over his career. As co-founder, frontman and bassist of The Police, Sting became one of the world’s best-selling artists.