Phil Collins, Genesis Sell Their Catalog for Nine-Figures

Phil Collins and Genesis are the latest artists to sell their catalogs for a massive payday.

Per The Wall Street Journal, the music rights for those catalogs, which include some of the music of Mike + the Mechanics, sold to Concord Music Group Inc. for a reported $300 million.

The deal is just the latest blockbuster payday for a veteran musician's catalog. The past couple of years has seen some of music's most legendary performers sell their music/publishing rights. In February, Sting sold his solo and Police catalog rights to Universal for a reported $250 million. That same month saw Neil Diamond sell his legendary catalog for an undisclosed, but very large sum. In January, the estate of David Bowie sold the rights to his catalog for upwards of $250 million. Just before the end of 2021, Bruce Springsteen sold his masters and music publishing catalog for a reported $500 million.

The payday is a big reason why these artists are selling their catalogs, but another reason to sell is to prevent any potential drama once they pass away. Publishing expert Michael Pagnotta told us in an interview in February, "While you're in sound mind and there's a great offer on the table, you might take it so that you can keep your whole family from killing each other when you're gone. I think that's a perfectly reasonable thing to do."

Genesis helped to invent progressive rock. But unlike their peers, they were able to transition to a more streamlined rock sound, dominating rock radio in the early '80s. And later, they went on to become rather unlikely pop superstars, while never totally ditching their prog roots. Even when they were topping the pop charts, they always included a proggy epic or two on each album.

The members of the most popular lineup included drummer/singer Phil Collins, along with founding members Mike Rutherford (guitar and bass) and Tony Banks (keyboards). The trio wrapped their reunion/farewell tour in March 2022. Their final show took place before a sold-out crowd at London's O2 Arena. As we previously reported, Collins honored the historic moment in dry fashion.

"It’s difficult for us to believe that, uh, you still came out to see us!" said Collins. "Yes, after tonight we’ve all got to get real jobs."

Peter Gabriel was famously in the audience during their final show. Gabriel, of course, was the band's singer from 1967-1975. So, why did he want to attend the band's final show?

He explained his decision to Mojo bluntly saying, "Me going was a rite of passage, really. I’d been part of the creation of Genesis, so I wanted to be there at the end."

To put a capper on the end of the band, Collins and Genesis sold the music rights to their catalogs in September 2022 to Concord Music Group Inc. The sale, which included some of the music of Rutherfod's other band, Mike + the Mechanics, was reportedly worth $300 million.

In honor of the band's incredible legacy, we are ranking their greatest songs, spanning the entire Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins eras. (Yeah, we know about their final album, 1997's Calling All Stations featuring singer Ray Wilson, and with all due respect, none of those songs make the Genesis top 40). As you'll see, we love the prog-rock Genesis, but we also love their hits as well. What did we miss? We're sure you'll let us know on social media. So, this is pretty much a definitive list that we won't need to update: there aren't many outtakes that they haven't released in some form, and it seems highly unlikely that any iteration of the band will get back together to put out more new music. But for nearly three decades, they were one of the best bands in the world, with a wider range than most.