Mary J. Blige has struck a major catalog deal with Primary Wave Music covering her compositions and recordings, including signature hits “Family Affair,” “My Life,” “Be Without You,” and “I Can Love You.” Primary Wave announced the partnership on Monday, October 26, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement spans songs across the nine-time Grammy winner’s 15 studio albums. Blige and her team will gain access to Primary Wave’s marketing, publishing, branding, digital, and synchronization infrastructure for new opportunities around the catalog. Reports, including one from Variety, described the transaction as the sale of undisclosed shares of her publishing and recorded-music assets. The official announcement framed it as a partnership without specifying ownership percentages or confirming a complete transfer of masters.
Primary Wave named specific tracks covered by the deal: “Family Affair,” “My Life,” “Mary Jane (All Night Long),” “You Bring Me Joy,” “Be Happy,” “Be Without You,” and “I Can Love You,” among others. “Family Affair,” produced by Dr. Dre, became Blige’s only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in 2001 and spent six weeks at the top. “Be Without You,” from her 2005 album The Breakthrough, reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 and won two Grammys. “I Can Love You,” featuring Lil’ Kim, was a major R&B hit from 1997’s Share My World.
Known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Blige has sold more than 50 million records worldwide across 15 studio albums, two live albums, and 83 singles. She has earned nine Grammy Awards from 37 nominations, along with 12 Billboard Music Awards, multiple American Music Awards and NAACP Image Awards, and Oscar nominations for her supporting role and original song “Mighty River” in the film Mudbound. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. Her 1992 debut What’s the 411? launched her career, and the follow-up My Life (1994) has since been selected for the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
Natalia Nastaskin, Primary Wave’s Partner and Chief Content Officer, said in a statement: “From the moment I heard ‘You Remind Me’ on NY’s KISS-FM, I became a Day 1 Mary J. Blige fan. For over 30 years, she has gifted the world with hit after undeniable hit and in the process has created the soundtrack of our lives. To partner with the Queen herself on her extraordinary catalog and her everlasting legacy is an honor for me and for our entire Primary Wave team.”
The deal comes while Blige is performing her first Las Vegas residency, Mary J. Blige: My Life, My Story, at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The 20-date run began in May 2026 and has been extended through February 2027. Primary Wave, which has previously partnered on catalogs from Whitney Houston, Bob Marley, Luther Vandross, and the Notorious B.I.G., positions the move as a way to expand licensing, branding, and digital opportunities for one of R&B and hip-hop’s most enduring catalogs.
Most of Blige’s studio albums were originally released through MCA and Geffen, labels now under Universal Music Group. The announcement did not detail how the new partnership interacts with existing label rights. Artists of Blige’s stature have completed similar catalog transactions in recent years, though exact valuations remain private. Primary Wave’s involvement signals continued commercial interest in her body of work more than three decades after her debut.
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