Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry Sells Catalog Stake to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group

Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group continues to partner with artists with deep-bench catalogs — announcing on Tuesday (March 5) a deal with Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry to acquire 50% of the suave auteur’s sound recordings and publishing, as well as half of his name, image and likeness rights. The company, which did not disclose financial details of the deal, said it will “develop and expand the renowned artist’s musical legacy to new generations of fans.”

The deal spans Ferry’s work with glam-turned-sophisti-pop band Roxy Music and his expansive solo career, which combined has yielded 24 albums over 50-plus years. The through-line with Roxy Music is that Ferry wrote almost every one of the group’s songs, from 1972’s art-rock debut to the group’s eighth and final album, 1982’s pop-sheened Avalon, at times co-writing with fellow longtime members Andy Mackay and Phil Manzanera. The band’s best known songs include “Love Is the Drug,” “All I Want Is You,” “Virginia Plain,” “Dance Away,” “Avalon” and radio staple “More Than This.”

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Ferry’s solo career ran parallel with his band work, starting with 1973’s These Foolish Things all the way to 2018’s Bitter-Sweet. In the middle there he scored his only UK No. 1 with 1985’s Boys and Girls, which also features one of Ferry’s biggest hits in America, “Slave to Love.” (The track was further immortalized when he performed it at Live Aid, with an assist from David Gilmour.) Other solo favorites include “Let’s Stick Together,” “Don’t Stop the Dance,” “Kiss & Tell” and a memorable cover of fellow sophisticate Robert Palmer‘s “Johnny & Mary.”

As for accolades, Ferry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 as a member of Roxy Music, and he was awarded a CBE in 2011 for his contribution to British music. The French also love him and he was bestowed the national honor of Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2012. Iconic president Jimmy Edwards calls Ferry a “true musical pioneer who blended art, fashion, and rock & roll into a captivating and enduring sound.”

At Iconic, which was co-founded by Azoff and Oliver Chastan, Ferry joins a hall-of-fame roster of acts that includes Rod Stewart, The Beach Boys, Cher, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dean Martin and CSN bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, among others.

Ferry said, “I’m pleased to be working with everyone at Iconic on finding new ways to share my music with the world. I’m excited to see what possibilities unfold.”

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