Jon Bon Jovi spoke with Howard Stern recently to promote his new Hulu documentary series “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.” Stern brought up that former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora sold his music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs.
“People sell their catalogs often, but it wasn’t anything I’d ever considered,” Jon said. “If it’s a collaborative effort on any song, then his share of the licensing fees would go to whomever bought it. Mine is mine and anyone I’ve ever collaborated with, theirs is theirs.”
Stern asked how much the Bon Jovi catalog might sell for. “A lot,” but he then clarified that “it’s all speculative … I have no desire to sell it. The songs will outlive all of us at this point. And that’s the beautiful thing about rock and roll in general. You or I hear a song on the radio and we remember where we heard it for the first time and what that song meant to us by that artist. And so we’ve been blessed enough to have had a number of those kinds of songs that people say, ‘Those are my memories and I like ’em.’ So those songs are going to live long after I’m gone. And I’m happy about that.”
Stern asked if he had been approached by anyone saying “Listen, I’d like to buy your catalog.” Jon responded: “Sure, sure. I’m not interested.”
KISS recently sold their catalog for big money, as did Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Neil Young. Jon Bon Jovi’s full response can be viewed below.
