Written by Red Hot Chili Peppers have done a deal with Warner Music Group to sell their recorded music catalogue for more than $300 million.
Having sold their publishing rights to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund for around $140 million in 2021, the Los Angeles quartet – vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith – struck a deal worth more than twice that sum for their catalogue, which includes 13 studio albums, nine of which, from 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik onwards, were released via Warners.
The sale is part of a larger deal between WMG and Bain Capital, a joint venture launched last summer that reportedly acquired $650 worth of music and publishing rights.
The Chili Peppers’ catalogue, which is reckoned to generate around $25 million per year, had reportedly been up for offers since last year. Billboard reported last year that the band were seeking $350 million for the sale.
WMG reported total quarterly revenues of $1.73 billion in the three months ended March 31, 2026 – up 12.1% year-on-year, according to musicbusinessworldwide.com.
Meanwhile, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea will play his first solo shows in Europe later this month, in support of his solo record Honora, whch was released on March 27 via Nonesuch Records.
The dates are:
May 21: Berlin Heimathafen, Germany
May 22: Amsterdam Paradiso, Netherlands
May 26: London Koko, UK
May 28: Paris Alhambra, France
Flea plays bass and trumpet on Honora, which features original songs, as well as covers of classic songs including Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman, and Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain. Guests on the album include Radiohead‘s Tom Yorke, who has performed with Flea in Atoms For Peace, and Nick Cave.
