Rock and soul icon Tina Turner’s recording legacy is officially in the hands of the fourth-largest music company in the world.
BMG announced Tuesday that it has acquired a portfolio of rights associated with Tina Turner and her music catalog, including her share of her solo recordings and publishing assets, as well as the rights to her name and image, Variety reported.
BMG declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal but did confirm to Rolling Stone that it represents the single largest artist acquisition in the Berlin-based company’s history.
“We all know how iconic Tina’s work is,” BMG Chief Executive Officer Hartwig Masuch told the magazine, adding, “When you look at the dimensions Tina’s career has entered even in the last few years between musicals and documentaries, there’s still so much untapped potential with her legacy.”
According to Variety, the company has vowed to work with Turner, 81, to “maintain and develop her musical treasure trove and safeguard her inspirational legacy.”
Despite her retirement from performing, Turner’s public profile is currently higher than it’s been in years, due to the smashing success of a host of recent projects, including a Tony-winning Broadway musical, an inspirational book and an HBO documentary, the entertainment news outlet reported.
Often referred to as the “queen of rock & roll,” Turner was the second artist to ever appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, after John Lennon, and the first woman and Black artist to hold the honor, the magazine reported.
“Like any artist, the protection of my life’s work, my musical inheritance, is something personal,” Turner said in a prepared statement. “I am confident that with BMG and Warner Music my work is in professional and reliable hands.”
Tina Turner performs on stage at Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 4th November 1990. (Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns)
UNSPECIFIED – JANUARY 01: Photo of Ike & Tina TURNER and Tina TURNER; Posed portrait of Tina Turner circa 1975 (Photo by Echoes/Redferns)
LONDON – 1989: Singers Tina Turner and David Bowie backstage at the Birmingham NEC. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
American singer Tina Turner is joined onstage by Elton John, on one of four nights at Wembley Arena, London, during her Private Dancer Tour, 14th-17th March 1985. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
1964: Tina Turner of the husband-and-wife R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner poses for a portrait in 1964. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
American R&B and Pop singer Tina Turner performs onstage at the United Center, Chicago, Illinois, October 1, 2000. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
Singers Elton John and Tina Turner perform at the Prince’s Trust 10th Anniversary Rock Gala at Wembley Arena, London, 23rd June 1986. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – 1988: Singer Tina Turner backstage in Rio de Janeiro in 1988. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
American music duo Tina Turner and Ike Turner (1931-2007) on left playing Fender Stratocaster guitar, of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue perform live on stage at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 24th October 1975. David Redfern Premium Collection. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
25th November 1969: Studio portrait of American rock singer Tina Turner, wearing a dark crocheted mini-dress, looking up and snapping her fingers while singing, New York City. (Photo by Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
25th November 1969: Full-length studio portrait of American rock singer Tina Turner, wearing a dark crocheted mini-dress, holding one hand above her head and the other one in front of her while dancing, New York City. (Photo by Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Full-length studio portrait of American rock singer Tina Turner, wearing a dark crocheted mini-dress, while looking down and stretching her arms out to the side, New York, New York, November 25, 1969. (Photo by Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
LONDON – 1990: Singer Tina Turner performs live on stage at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
American singer Tina Turner of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue performs on stage wearing sunglasses during recording of the Associated Rediffusion Television pop music television show Ready Steady Go! at Wembley Television Studios in London in September 1966. The show would be broadcast on ITV on 30th September 1966. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
NEW YORK, NY – CIRCA 1985: Tina Turner with Cher circa 1985 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images)
Singer Tina Turner is photographed in her dressing room backstage ahead of her show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in New York, 12th July 1993. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
DETROIT – AUGUST 28: American-Swiss singer and actress, Tina Turner performs at the Joe Louis Arena during her "Private Dancer Tour" on August 18, 1985, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 – 1997) meets singers Paul Young and Tina Turner backstage at a Prince’s Trust charity rock concert at Wembley, June 1986. Diana is wearing a Jasper Conran suit. (Photo by Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)
American R&B and Pop singer Tina Turner performs onstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 12, 1987. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – CIRCA 1980s: Tina Turner and guests circa 1980s in New York City. (Photo by Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1985: Lionel Richie performs with Tina Turner circa 1985. (Photo by Jerry Wachter/IMAGES/Getty Images)
Tina Turner recording at her studio Bolic Sound with "The Ikettes" on March 5, 1972 in Los Angeles, Califonia. (Photo by Richard Nairin/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
American singer Tina Turner, Rome, Italy, 1989. (Photo by Luciano Viti/Getty Images)
American music duo Tina Turner and Ike Turner (1931-2007) of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue attend a press interview in London in October 1975. Ike and Tina Turner are due to play one date at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 24th October. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
Musicians (L-R) Phil Collins, Tina Turner and Mark Knopfler at an event to honor Princess Michael of Kent, England, July 8th 1986. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Singer Tina Turner is photographed in her dressing room backstage ahead of her show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in New York, 12th July 1993. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
American R&B and Pop singer Tina Turner performs onstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 12, 1987. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
LONDON – JUNE 20: Paul McCartney and Tina Turner performing on stage at The Prince’s Trust 10th Birthday Party at Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom on 20th June 1986. Behind them from left to right are: Mark King, Paul Young, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi. (Photo by Brian Cooke/Redferns)
American singer Tina Turner performing live on stage with Ike Turner (behind) and the Ikettes in London, 28th October 1975. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Tina Turner, Vorst Nationaal, Brussels, Belgium, 16th April 1985. (Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images)
American singer, Tina Turner posing in a winged-costume, Los Angeles, California, 1977. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
Los Angeles – CIRCA 1985: Singer Tina Turner poses for a portrait circa 1985 in Los Angeles, California (Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)
ARNHEM, NETHERLANDS – MARCH 21: Tina Turner performs on stage at the Gelredome on March 21st, 2009 in Arnhem, Netherlands. (Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns)
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 03: Singer Tina Turner attends the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Fall Winter 2018/2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 3, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images)
Tina Turner during the premiere of the musical ‘Tina – Das Tina Turner Musical’ at Stage Operettenhaus on March 3, 2019, in Hamburg, Germany. The rock and soul icon announced Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, that she has sold her music rights to and is planning the protection of her musical legacy with Berlin-based BMG. (Photo by Franziska Krug/Getty Images)
