Mary J. Blige, the singer long known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, has brought her catalog to Primary Wave Music. The independent publisher announced on Monday, October 26, that it has partnered with the nine-time Grammy winner on both her songwriting and her recorded music.
Neither side revealed what the deal is worth, and the announcement stopped short of saying how large a share of the rights Primary Wave now holds, or whether it bought an ownership stake at all. Variety described the transaction as a sale of undisclosed shares of Blige’s publishing and recorded-music assets.
The songs in the deal
Primary Wave singled out a run of signature titles covered by the agreement: “Family Affair,” “My Life,” “Mary Jane (All Night Long),” “You Bring Me Joy,” “Be Happy,” “Be Without You” and “I Can Love You.” “Family Affair” gave Blige her only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001, holding the top spot for six weeks, while “Be Without You” earned two Grammys in 2007. Most of her studio albums first came out through MCA and Geffen, catalogs that now sit within Universal Music Group.
By the company’s count, Blige has sold more than 50 million records across 15 studio albums, two live albums and 83 singles. Her 1994 album My Life entered the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2025, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Beyond music, she picked up two Oscar nominations for the 2017 film Mudbound, one for acting and one for the song “Mighty River.”
Natalia Nastaskin, Primary Wave’s chief content officer, said she had been a fan since first hearing “You Remind Me” on New York radio and called partnering on Blige’s catalog and legacy an honor for the whole company. As part of the arrangement, Blige’s team gains access to Primary Wave’s marketing and publishing operation, with possible collaboration on new music, branding, digital projects and sync placements.
A busy year for Primary Wave
The Blige agreement extends a long streak of legacy deals for the Larry Mestel-founded firm. In recent months Primary Wave has announced partnerships with The Verve Pipe frontman Brian Vander Ark and with the estates of Robert Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Donna Summer. Several of those estate deals included name, image and likeness rights; the Blige announcement does not mention them. The company also completed its roughly $1.5 billion acquisition of Kobalt in July and closed a fourth investment fund at $2.225 billion in April.
Meanwhile Blige remains on stage: her first Las Vegas residency, My Life, My Story, opened at Dolby Live at Park MGM in May and is scheduled to wrap on February 20, 2027.
Image: Primary Wave logo and Mary J. Blige, via Music Business Worldwide (https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/mary-j-blige-strikes-deal-with-primary-wave-covering-her-song-and-recording-catalogs/); photographer not credited.
Source: Music Business Worldwide; additional details from Variety and Primary Wave.