How Much Is Garth Brooks’ Music Catalog Worth?

Dolly Parton's passing last month sparked discussions about her musical legacy, prompting music investors to reassess Garth Brooks' potential sale of his music assets. Billboard estimated Parton's master recordings generated $11 million in annual revenue between 2022-2025, and her publishing generated $6.5 million, totaling $17.5 million.

Consequently, they valued her assets at $220 million, with $103 million from recordings and $117 million from publishing. If Parton's catalog is worth around $220 million, how might Brooks' catalog, for which he seeks $1-2 billion, compare? Parton's catalog has a stronger performance in both the U.S. and globally. Her U.S. consumption units averaged 643,000 over the past six years, compared to Brooks' 445,000 units.

Globally, Parton's catalog is streamed 2.5 times more than Brooks', with 1.141 billion annual streams versus Brooks' 414.6 million. Additionally, Parton's catalog was more active in the last three years, with 644,000 U.S. album consumption units compared to Brooks' 375,000 units. Parton's global streams are also three times larger, at 1.305 billion annually versus Brooks' 432.3 million.

However, the valuation of Brooks' catalog may be higher due to factors like him owning his entire recorded catalog and distributing it independently, which likely results in nearly 100% of the revenue, unlike Parton who gets a percentage of royalties. Furthermore, Parton's publishing appears more valuable as she has co-written approximately 3,000 songs, giving her a 75% share of co-writing royalties, while Brooks' catalog relies more on outside songwriters, with his share estimated at around 20%.

Lastly, Parton's streaming activity is more diverse, with 47% of her streams occurring in the U.S. and 53% from outside the U.S., while nearly 90% of Brooks' streams come from the U.S. This global revenue discrepancy suggests that Parton's catalog generates more revenue than Brooks' according to Billboard's calculations.