Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rod Stewart sold his catalog of hits, deep tracks and more at Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group. Styled a “broad-reaching multi-media” partnership, the deal with IAG includes the hard-hitting singer-songwriter's rights to his recordings and publishing interest, as well as certain name, image and likeness rights. Advertising sign has confirmed.
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The company, which Azoff co-founded in January 2020, declined to provide financial details of its deal with Stewart, who joins an elite IAG roster that includes The Beach Boys, Cher, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dan Fogelberg, Nat. King” Cole, Dean Martin and CSN bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.
At the same time, Iconic announced Thursday (Feb. 15) that it has raised $1 billion as part of an investment from HPS Investment Partners — which it said will allow them to acquire and manage even more legendary assets.
IAG's deal with Stewart covers his entire career, beginning with his standout vocal contributions to Jeff Beck's first two albums — Truth and Beck-All — and then the incredible production of the legendary Faces, his band with fellow Jeff Beck Group alum Ronnie Wood. This combination, supplemented by Kenney Jones and the late Ian McLagan and Ronnie Lane, produced several gems in the early 1970s that Stewart co-wrote, including “Miss Judy's Farm” “Bad 'n' Ruin” and their only US hit, “Stay With Me” (No. 17, Hot 100).
Stewart's solo career began in earnest during a brief period between his time in JBG and the Faces, but he really hit his stride with 1971's No. 3 Every picture tells a story, which topped the Billboard 200 and spawned breakthrough hits “Maggie May” (co-written with Martin Quittenton) and a cover of “(Find a) Reason to Believe”. Throughout the decade he scored an album's biggest hits, including “Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, as well as “You Wear It Well,” ” Hot Legs', 'You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)' and his disco take on 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?' Additionally, it was during the 70s that he established himself as a capable performer of other people's songs, such as “The First Cut Is the Deepest” (Cat Stevens) and “Twistin' the Night Away” (Sam Cooke).
In the 1980s Stewart turned to a more soft rock style and scored a number of top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Passion,” “Tonight I'm Yours (Don't Hurt Me),” “Infatuation,” “Forever Young” and one of his biggest tracks of the decade, a cover of Tom Waits' “Downtown Train.” The following decade produced adult contemporary hits such as “Rhythm of My Heart,” from his top-10 album Tramp Heartand the juggernaut that was his multi-platinum Unplugged…and seated, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and included a wedding reception-ready version of Van Morrison's “Have I Told You Lately.” For much of the 2000s, Stewart released a series of wildly popular Great American Songbook albums and other genre-specific collections, including rock and soul collections. Later this month, he will release his 32nd studio album, Swing Fever, a salute to the big band era. The rest of the year will find him on the road and completing his residency in Las Vegas.
The partnership with IAG comes less than a year after Stewart walked away from a potential catalog sale to Hipgnosis after lengthy negotiations. He said at the time that “this catalog represents my life's work. And it's become clear after a lot of time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my catalog, career or legacy.” (Hipgnosis went on to have an abnormal 2023 that has spilled over into this year.)
However, now Stewart has reason to believe that “the time is right” and that “I feel fortunate to have found partners in Irving and his team at Iconic, to whom I can entrust my life's work and my future musical legacy ».
Azoff added: “We are thrilled to welcome one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of our time, Rod Stewart, to the Iconic family. Our new partnership with HPS provides us with the resources and flexibility to make successful signings like this and continue the success of our legendary artists and their legacy.”
Iconic's financial advisor during the process was Artisan and Moelis, while Kendrick & Baron acted as the company's legal advisors. Jackoway Tyerman represented Stewart. HPS Investment Partners has engaged Lisbeth R. Barron and the team at Barron International Group, LLC as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins as legal counsel.
