Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold their recorded music catalog to Warner Music Group in a deal worth more than $300 million, according to sources close to the deal.
The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the sale on Friday (May 8).
The acquisition was made through WMG‘s joint venture with private investment firm Bain Capital – a catalog-buying vehicle launched in July 2025 with up to $1.2 billion in combined equity and debt.
That vehicle, known internally as Beethoven JV 1, LLC, was upsized in February this year to $1.65 billion in total capacity – a move MBW noted at the time could signal that a deal for the RHCP catalog was imminent.
According to WMG‘s fiscal Q2 earnings results, published on Wednesday (May 7), the Bain joint venture has now deployed $650 million on catalog acquisitions.
The RHCP deal accounts for approximately half of that $650 million total.
The band’s recorded catalog spans 13 studio albums, from the self-titled Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984) through to Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen, both released in 2022.
Warner has been the band’s label home since 1991‘s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, with the preceding four albums originally released via EMI.
According to Billboard estimates, the RHCP recorded music catalog generates approximately $26 million in annual revenue.
The band – Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, and Chad Smith – had been shopping the catalog since early 2025, initially seeking approximately $350 million.
The sale of the band’s recorded masters follows a separate transaction in 2021, when the group sold its music publishing catalog to Hipgnosis – now Recognition Music Group – in a deal worth between $140 million and $150 million.
WMG CFO Armin Zerza said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that the joint venture’s investments are “very focused on iconic, high-margin catalogs, and importantly, those catalogs where we see growth potential.”
“It is important for us to ensure that we deliver above-average returns,” Zerza added.
Warner did not disclose specific revenue or earnings contributions from the Bain JV’s acquisitions, citing confidentiality agreements.
WMG reported total quarterly revenues of $1.73 billion in the three months ended March 31, 2026 – up 12.1% year-on-year at constant currency.Music Business Worldwide