In a move that celebrates her enduring legacy, music icon Patti LaBelle has signed a landmark partnership deal with Primary Wave Music Group, one of the industry’s leading music publishing and marketing companies.
While financial terms remain undisclosed, Primary Wave confirmed the partnership encompasses LaBelle’s artist royalties across her entire catalog — an extraordinary body of work that includes 18 studio albums, three live albums, 14 compilation albums, and 47 singles. With over 50 million records sold worldwide, LaBelle’s deal marks a fitting celebration of a six-decade career that helped shape the sound of R&B and soul.
“We are so honored to be in business with a legend such as Ms. LaBelle,” said Steven Greener of Primary Wave in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “She’s a true icon and trailblazer. We are looking forward to doing great things together.”
This latest deal adds to Primary Wave’s impressive string of high-profile acquisitions. Earlier this year, the company secured the Biggie Smalls catalog, and in 2020, it purchased the producer royalty income streams of hitmaker Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, whose work has fueled megahits for Destiny’s Child, Michael Jackson, Tony Braxton, and Mary J. Blige.
For LaBelle — affectionately known as the “Godmother of Soul” — the move reflects both a celebration of her unmatched legacy and a strategic step toward preserving her music for future generations. Over her storied career, she has earned 42 charting singles on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, including 13 Top 10 hits.
Her voice powered timeless classics like “If Only You Knew,” “You Are My Friend,” and her duet with Michael McDonald, “On My Own.” Before her solo success, she fronted the groundbreaking trio Labelle, whose 1974 anthem “Lady Marmalade” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and later inspired a new generation of artists — from Lil’ Kim, Mýa, Christina Aguilera, and Pink in 2001 to Kelly Rowland and Nelly’s 2002 hit “Dilemma,” which sampled her 1983 classic “Love, Need and Want You.”
The Grammy-winning singer and actress, who received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, remains an unstoppable force in music and performance. Most recently, LaBelle shared the stage with Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, and Stephanie Mills on The Queens Tour, a 20-city celebration of Black female excellence in music that wrapped on Oct. 20 in Cleveland, Ohio.
At 80, Patti LaBelle continues to move with the same power and grace that defined her rise from Philadelphia church choirs to international superstardom. Her deal with Primary Wave ensures that the next chapter of her career — and her cultural influence — will be as dynamic as her voice.
