Where’s Tina Turner now? Why did she sell her music rights?

In breaking news, Tina Turner has sold the rights to her music to BMG. This is a huge story both for casual & hardcore rock ‘n’ roll fans, and the internet has been buzzing over it.

However, maybe you’ve been out of the loop. Perhaps you don’t even know who Tina Turner is! Let’s go over the iconic history of Tina Turner and discuss why this news is such a huge deal.

Who’s Tina Turner, anyway?

Also known as the Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll, Tina Turner is an American-Swiss singer who started her career in the late 1950s. In the beginning, she was a backup singer for Ike Turner, who she eventually married, and the two of them performed together starting in the 1960s. However, her husband’s cocaine addiction heavily affected their relationship, and she filed for divorce in 1976. It was finalized in 1978, and the two separated.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the end of Tina Turner’s story. She went solo after leaving her husband, and that proved to be a much more successful venture. She hit it big in the 1980s, and her winning streak continued until the early 2000s. Her records were bestsellers (some even went platinum), and her singles became hits.

She released a few albums in the early 2000s and assisted on a Broadway musical about her life called Tina (Adrienne Warren played Turner in the show). She won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and came out of retirement in 2020 to team up with Kygo, a producer who was remixing her famous hit, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”. An HBO documentary was also made about her life this year.

So where’s Tina Turner now? Let’s look at our latest story regarding the Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll.

Selling her music

On October 6th, 2021, it was revealed Tina Turner sold BMG the rights to her music catalog. In one swoop, the entire company has the rights to her music, image, and likeness.

On BMG’s official website, the company made the following statement about the purchase: “BMG is proud to announce it has acquired an extensive portfolio of rights in the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, one of the greatest and best-loved artists in popular music history, Tina Turner. Working hand-in-hand with Tina Turner, BMG will maintain and develop her musical treasure-trove and safeguard her inspirational legacy.”

When interviewed, the head of BMG, Hartwig Masuch said the company wants to show Tina Turner’s music to a new generation. In order to achieve that, Turner’s classic songs will be available through streaming and on social media.

So where’s Tina Turner now? Legally speaking, she’s in BMG’s hands. Yet, there are others who have done the same thing, and it doesn’t look like a particularly bright situation. . .

She’s not the only one

In BMG’s announcement of acquiring the rights to Tina Turner’s work, they also said the following:

“The transaction forms part of BMG’s long-term strategy to create a 21st century home for the most iconic music rights in popular music history. BMG already represents or owns rights in the work of iconic artists including Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Mick Fleetwood, Roger Waters, Kurt Cobain, Blondie, David Bowie, Scorpions, The Kinks, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and more.”

They ended with, “The company expects to announce further transactions in the coming weeks.” Clearly, this is far from BMG’s only purchase of a musical artist’s likeness & catalog. And even more interesting, BMG isn’t the only company doing this, either. The Universal Music Group (UMG) purchased Bob Dylan’s songbook for $400 million just last year, for example. And other artists have also been bought out. . .

But why? Rockstar David Crosby shed some light on the situation in this tweet, explaining why he sold his songs to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artist’s Group: “I can’t work. . . and streaming stole my record money. . . I have a family and a mortgage and I have to take care of them so it’s my only option. . . I’m sure the others feel the same[.]”

Musicians struggling during the pandemic

Crosby’s statement was in response to a tweet by Cojo (@CDAWG66) which said, “I never thought I would see this. Unfortunately, several artists have sold their song writes in this age where one cannot play live.” So one can only assume that the coronavirus has had something to do with the growing trend of artists selling their songs.

The BBC also shed some light on the situation in their article on the Tina Turner acquisition, saying, “The deals give superstar artists & writers a guaranteed windfall, while the new owners collect royalties every time the songs are streamed, sold or placed in movies.”

Where’s Tina Turner now? Will this bode well for her future? We’ll have to see. Ultimately, Tina Turner’s tunes now belong to BMG. We’ll have to see what they do with her music. If the future continues like this, and artists cannot perform live thanks to the coronavirus, we might see more musicians selling their work.

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What do you think of Tina Turner? Where’s Tina Turner now, in your eyes? Let us know because we want to hear from you!