Bruce Springsteen is to sell his music and publishing rights to Sony Music

Bruce Springsteen is reportedly negotiating with Sony Music to sell the rights to his recorded music and publishing catalogue.

According to three sources who spoke to Variety, the deal for the veteran rock legend's album catalogue is nearly completed, but the publishing rights are still to play for.

It's estimated that Springsteen’s combined album and song catalogues are worth between $330 million and $415 million.

While many musicians baulk at the thought of selling the rights to their music, Springsteen is one of many older artists who seem to see it a solid financial decision, as some recent catalogue sales have generated staggering amounts of money. Artists like Bob Dylan, who sold his songs to Universal Music Publishing for a reported figure of $400 million in December last year.

Another reason for many artists to consider selling their rights is a proposed increase in capital gains taxes in the US.

The Boss signed with Sony Music’s Columbia Records in 1972, but acquired the rights to his music at some point in his career, through a contract renegotiation.

He has achieved more than 65.5 million album sales in the U.S. alone, according to the RIAA. It's also estimated his album catalogue earned up to $15 million in revenue in 2020,  in addition to $7.5 million per year from the publishing catalogue, and more than $840 million from touring between 2010 and 2019.

There are also historic live recordings for sale on his website, to which he owns the rights. The sales from these live recordings apparently bypass record labels.

No official confirmation of the sale has come from Springsteen himself.