Primary Wave Music has reached an agreement with the estate of British singer-songwriter Robert Palmer, announced on September 23, 2026. The deal covers Palmer's music publishing and recorded music catalogs, and gives Primary Wave a share in his name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. Financial terms were not made public.
What changes hands
Under the agreement, Primary Wave will work alongside the estate on both sides of the catalog: the songs Palmer wrote and the recordings he made. The estate also gets access to Primary Wave's marketing and publishing teams, with plans for new branding, digital and sync campaigns, as well as film and TV projects.
The catalog
Palmer, who died in 2003 at 54, released 14 studio albums and three live albums. His best-known recordings include:
- Addicted to Love (1986), which he wrote. It was his only Billboard Hot 100 No.1 and won him the first of two Grammys for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
- Simply Irresistible (1988), which reached No.2 in the US and earned his second Grammy.
- Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) (1979).
- Johnny and Mary (1980), a No.1 in Spain whose hook became a long-running TV ad theme.
He also fronted The Power Station with members of Duran Duran and Chic.
Why it matters
This is another legacy-artist deal for Primary Wave, which recently struck a similar agreement with the Wilson Pickett estate and closed its acquisition of Kobalt in July. Combining catalog rights with NIL rights is becoming a standard structure for estate deals, because it lets the buyer monetize the brand around the music (documentaries, merchandise, licensing), not only the royalty streams.
For rightsholders, the takeaway is that heritage catalogs with strong sync potential and a recognizable artist brand continue to attract serious buyer interest.