Like Beyoncé, Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers have struck a deal with publishing giant Hipgnosis…
Apparently saying ‘California’ a lot is quite the money maker. To wit, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold a wedge of their catalogue to publishing powerhouse Hipgnosis for a reported $150 million. Though it’s unclear whether the final deal has been signed, songs included in the trade include Californication, Snow (Hey Oh), Give It Away and others that everyone knows and are therefore worth loads, according to Billboard.
The band are not the first to do this. Last year, Bob Dylan signed a deal worth $300 million with the company, while they also own the rights to songs by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Fleetwood Mac and 50 Cent, among a reported 57,000 other songs.
Read this: The 20 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs – ranked
As well as now being able to get Uber Eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Chilis have been working on a follow-up to 2016 album The Getaway, with returning guitarist John Frusciante. Speaking last year, drummer Chad Smith said, "For now, we’ll mostly be concentrating on new songs and writing a new record. We’re all real excited to make new music.”
Chad’s also been busy playing on Ozzy Osbourne’s new album, alongside members of Metallica and Foo Fighters. According to producer Andrew Watt (Post Malone’s producer, who also made Ozzy’s 2020 album Ordinary Man with Chad), it started as a jam and just kept going.
“I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo, who used to play in Ozzy’s band,” the producer said in December. “And Taylor Hawkins also came in and played a bunch on the record as well, which adds a different flair – it kind of harkened back to Ozzy’s ‘80s era, in a great way. And I think it’s so cool for a rock fan to be able to listen to half an album with Chad Smith on drums, and then you flip it over and you get to hear Taylor Hawkins.
“And you know, the last album was really special for everyone involved. And so there was no point in Ozzy or me doing this again unless we thought we could bring something new to the table. And I feel like we’re achieving that.”
