Rod Stewart Sells His Song Catalog

Rod Stewart just made a pretty penny for his life's music. It's not the $500 million paid to Bruce Springsteen or even the $200 million to Justin Bieber, but the 79-year-old is still close to the nine-figure threshold in a deal for nearly $100 million with Iconic Artists Group, reports the Wall Street Journal. Stewart has 10 No. 1 albums over a career that spans six decades, with hits that include "Maggie May" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." The deal for his song catalog includes his stints with the Jeff Beck Group and Faces.

"My life's work is in safe hands," Stewart said in a statement referencing music exec Irving Azoff, head of Iconic Artists. Variety notes that Stewart is about to release his 32nd studio album, Swing Fever, his homage to the big-band era. The deal suggests that the market to buy such catalogs, which cooled a bit over the last year, is about to pick up again, according to the Journal. (More Rod Stewart stories.)