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Primary Wave Music Acquires Pete Townshend's Music Catalog and Rights in Nine-Figure Deal

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Pete Townshend, lead songwriter for The Who, has partnered with Primary Wave Music. The publisher acquired his music rights, name, image, and likeness assets in a nine-figure deal.

Variety Music·May 14, 2026·via Variety Music

Primary Wave Music Acquires Pete Townshend's Music Catalog and Rights in Nine-Figure Deal

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May 14, 2026 7:06am PT

Pete Townshend’s Music Catalog and Other Rights Acquired by Primary Wave Music in Nine-Figure Deal

By Jem Aswad

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Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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Pete Townshend — Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, solo artist and legendary main songwriter for the Who — has partnered with powerhouse publisher Primary Wave Music in a nine-figure deal that sees the company acquiring certain music rights, along with name, image and likeness assets and the “exploitation of future creative projects.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and a rep for Primary Wave Music declined to provide further details. But a spokesperson for Spirit Music, which acquired Townshend’s publishing in 2017 for a reported $100 million after an initial acquisition five years earlier, confirms to Variety that the company no longer holds those rights, and a different source confirms to Variety that rights to songs from Townshend’s iconic catalog, including “My Generation,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Let My Love Open the Door” and others, are included in the Primary Wave deal.