💰 Mötley Crüe song rights: from Elektra to BMG's reported $150M

The band took its masters back from Elektra, then sold to BMG. Mick Mars lost a 2026 arbitration; the band seeks court confirmation. ⏳

By , editor at large · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · · 4 min read

Vince NeilRIGHTSPhoto: Paul.yuusuf at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Paul.yuusuf at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Desaturated and cropped by MrScandal.

What we know

  • Fast Company reported in 2014 that Mötley Crüe negotiated a deal with its former label, Elektra, to gain ownership of its masters and publishing rights.
  • BMG announced on Nov. 30, 2021 that it had acquired the band's catalog. The Los Angeles Business Journal gave the price as a reported $150 million, first reported by Variety, and noted that other sources cited a significantly lower number.
  • Mick Mars sued the band in Los Angeles County Superior Court on April 6, 2023. The band's attorney Sasha Frid called the suit "unfortunate and completely off-base" and said Mars had resigned.
  • Guitar World reported in January 2026 that arbitrator Patrick J. Walsh ordered Mars to repay part of a $1,500,000 advance. It also reported that the band had filed to confirm the award in court, and that Mars had not responded.

Mötley Crüe owns its own story, and for decades it has also owned its own recordings. Fast Company reported in 2014 that the band negotiated a deal with Elektra, its former label, to gain ownership of its masters and publishing rights, "a rarity among major bands." In November 2021, BMG announced it had bought the catalog. The paperwork since then has been mostly about who gets paid.

A note on the peg: Mr Scandal has no arrest document for Vince Neil in the sources read, so nothing below depends on one. What follows is the band's own legal and money record, in order, with each side's response where the sources give it.

How the rights came home

01

1994: a band gets an operating agreement

Manager Allen Kovac told Fast Company that when he signed on in 1994 he insisted on an operating agreement, with shareholder and board meetings, before taking the band on. Nikki Sixx, the primary songwriter, was given a tie-breaking vote in collective decisions, according to the same report. Kovac said the structure is why the band succeeds despite what he called "plenty of chaos."

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02

The 1990s: masters and publishing leave Elektra

Fast Company reported that the band formed its own label and negotiated a deal with Elektra to gain ownership of its masters and publishing. The Los Angeles Business Journal says Kovac helped the band regain control as part of a contract renegotiation in the 1990s. Mick Mars told Billboard in 2008 that Elektra owed the band "in the eight-digit area" and that the band took seven figures instead of eight in exchange for the masters. No Elektra statement appears in the sources read, and the full terms are not set out in them.

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"Without owning their own masters and publishing, I don’t know if there would have been a Mötley Crüe in the lean years"

Allen Kovac, band manager, to Fast Company, May 28, 2014
03

July 1997: John Corabi sues

A Blabbermouth editor's note says former lead singer John Corabi filed a $4 million lawsuit against the band in July 1997, alleging breach of contract, fraud and slander. Corabi said he had not received royalties or credit for his contributions. The sources read do not state how the case ended or what the band said in response.

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04

2008: the resigning-shareholder clause

The band's attorney Sasha Frid later said that in 2008 every band member, Mars included, signed an agreement stating that "in no event shall any resigning shareholder be entitled to receive any monies attributable to live performances (i.e., tours)." Mars's side disputes how that applies to him, as the 2023 filing below shows.

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05

January 2014: a signed farewell

At a Los Angeles press conference, the four members signed a legally binding "cessation of touring agreement," The Guardian reported. Fast Company says it bars any of them from performing under the Crüe name beyond 2015. Sixx, for his part, told Fast Company the band had turned down licensing offers, including Rock of Ages, to avoid being tied to an era.

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06

November 2021: BMG buys the catalog

BMG Rights Management announced on Nov. 30 that it had acquired the band's entire catalog, spanning nine studio albums. The Los Angeles Business Journal reported the price as $150 million, first reported by Variety, and added that other sources have cited a significantly lower number. BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said in a statement that the band had decided BMG would be "the best custodians of their musical career."

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07

April 6, 2023: Mick Mars sues

Court papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court show Mars asking for access to the band's corporate records. The suit claims the band called an emergency shareholders' meeting to remove him and sought to cut his share of touring and merchandise income from 25% to 5%. The band, through attorney Sasha Frid, said Mars "publicly resigned" and was offered "a generous compensation package." CBS News reported that the band's 2022 tour with Def Leppard earned more than $170 million, according to Billboard.

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08

January 2026: the arbitrator rules

Guitar World reported that independent arbitrator Patrick J. Walsh ordered Mars to repay the band part of an advance. The band's legal reps said the ruling also settled the miming allegations, which they say were found to be false. Guitar World reported that the band has filed to confirm the award in court and that Mars had not responded as of its Jan. 29 report. In 2024, the same report says, Mars had won a minor victory in his suit over corporate documents.

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"Mars stopped touring. Therefore, he must pay it back."

Arbitrator Patrick J. Walsh, quoted by Guitar World, January 29, 2026

The pattern is consistent: the band wrote its rights and its exits into contracts, and then the contracts did the arguing. The Ledger below keeps the open items open.

Earlier on file: Vince Neil's girlfriend Rain Hannah charged with domestic assault

The Vince Neil file

Last entry Nov 1, 2026
  1. Filed

    People reports arrest records show his girlfriend Rain Hannah was charged with domestic-related assault in Tennessee; court date Dec. 3. Vince Neil's girlfriend Rain Hannah charged with domestic assault

On file: The Vince Neil file · The Mötley Crüe file · The Nikki Sixx file

The Ledger

On the record

  • Fast Company reported the band's Elektra deal for its masters and publishing; BMG announced the catalog purchase on Nov. 30, 2021.
  • Guitar World reported in January 2026 that an arbitrator ordered Mars to repay part of a $1,500,000 advance.

Still rumour

  • The BMG price: $150 million is a reported figure, and other sources cited a significantly lower number.
  • Any Vince Neil arrest: not in the documents read. Whether a court has confirmed the arbitration award is also not confirmed there, and Elektra's terms are not set out.

That's the record. The rest is rumour. - Mr Scandal

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