{"id":226919,"date":"2025-03-20T18:11:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=226919"},"modified":"2025-03-20T18:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:46:11","slug":"primary-wave-acquires-stake-in-notorious-b-i-g-catalog-in-deal-valuing-estate-at-200m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/primary-wave-acquires-stake-in-notorious-b-i-g-catalog-in-deal-valuing-estate-at-200m\/","title":{"rendered":"Confirmed: Primary Wave acquires stake in Biggie Smalls catalog in deal valuing artist’s estate at $200m"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a done deal. A couple of weeks ago, Primary Wave was reported<\/a> to be nearing a deal to acquire a significant stake in the Notorious B.I.G.\u2019s<\/strong> recordings and publishing catalog, plus name, image and likeness rights.<\/p>\n

That deal has now closed, Primary wave has confirmed.<\/p>\n

Financial terms of the agreement haven’t been disclosed. The Wall Street Journal <\/em>reported<\/a> earlier today (March 20),<\/em> citing people familiar with the matter, that Primary Wave has taken “a 50% interest in the Notorious B.I.G estate, valuing the late rapper’s life’s work at over $200 million.”<\/p>\n

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The WSJ<\/em> noted that Biggie Smalls’ mother Voletta Wallace approved the deal shortly before her death last month.<\/p>\n

The report also suggested that Primary Wave will work with the Notorious B.I.G.<\/strong> estate “<\/strong>to pursue projects that elevate Biggie Smalls’ status as a legend”.<\/p>\n

<\/div> <\/div> <\/p>\n

Those projects could include a Broadway show about his life or “immersive” experiences using his music plus virtual “avatar”.<\/p>\n

Born\u00a0Christopher Wallace\u00a0<\/b>and also known as\u00a0Biggie Smalls<\/b>, the late Brooklyn rapper\u2019s estate is represented by Mark Pitts\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0Wayne Barrow<\/b>, co-founders of\u00a0ByStorm Entertainment\u00a0<\/b>who previously worked with Wallace at\u00a0Bad Boy Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n

V<\/strong>oletta Wallace<\/b>, the rapper\u2019s mother, who\u00a0passed away<\/a> last month at age 78, had been instrumental in managing her son\u2019s legacy since he was killed in a shooting in 1997, producing a biopic for Wallace and overseeing the management of his estate.<\/p>\n

<\/div> <\/div> <\/p>\n

Primary Wave has built a portfolio that includes rights to works by Bob Marley<\/a>, Whitney Houston<\/a>, Stevie Nicks<\/a>, <\/b>and Luther Vandross<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Its recent moves include signing<\/a> a marketing and publishing administration deal with Grammy-winning songwriter and performer Jimmy Webb<\/b>, along with deals with the estate of country and folk singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker<\/b><\/a>, Grammy-winning violinist Itzhak Perlman<\/strong><\/a>, and Feels So Good <\/i>composer Chuck Mangione<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Primary Wave has also recently acquired the catalog of Nuno Bettencourt<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of 90s rock band\u00a0Extreme<\/strong>; inked a\u00a0publishing partnership<\/a>\u00a0with alt-rock band\u00a0The Spin Doctors<\/strong>; and signed a\u00a0music rights deal<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Neil Finn<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0Crowded House<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The company also\u00a0struck a deal<\/a>\u00a0for the recorded, publishing, brand and name and likeness rights of\u00a0The Village People<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0YMCA<\/em>\u00a0fame; a\u00a0catalog deal<\/a>\u00a0with the estate of songwriter and musician\u00a0P.F. Sloan<\/strong>; and\u00a0a stake in the catalog<\/a>\u00a0of singer\/songwriter\u00a0Neil Sedaka<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Primary Wave\u2019s acquisition spree has been powered by\u00a0a\u00a0$2 billion<\/strong>\u00a0partnership<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Brookfield Asset Management<\/strong>\u00a0in 2022, which saw the firm take a minority stake in the New York-headquartered music publisher founded and led by\u00a0Larry Mestel<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Biggie Smalls’<\/b>\u00a01994 debut album Ready to Die\u00a0<\/i>produced hits like Juicy\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Big Poppa.<\/i><\/p>\n

His posthumous sophomore album\u00a0Life After Death<\/i>\u00a0(1997) featured chart-topping tracks\u00a0Hypnotize\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Mo Money Mo Problems,\u00a0<\/i>earning multiple Grammy nominations.<\/p>\n

Following his death at age 24, Wallace\u2019s estate has generated revenue through licensing deals, merchandising, and posthumous releases. His legacy has been documented in the feature film\u00a0Notorious\u00a0<\/i>and in several documentaries. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Warner Music Group<\/a><\/b>\u00a0in December 2023\u00a0launched<\/a> a \u201990s-inspired video game centered around the rapper in partnership with decentralized gaming virtual world The Sandbox.<\/p>\n

In April 2023, Warner Music\u00a0launched<\/a>\u00a0a visual podcast series exploring Notorious B.I.G.\u2019s final album on\u00a0The Roku Channel.\u00a0<\/b>The series was entitled\u00a0Iconic Records: Life After Death.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WSJ reports that Biggie Smalls’ mother Voletta Wallace approved the deal shortly before her death last month<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":225690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}