Barrtalk: Hit Me Baby, 200 Million More Times; Britney and the music mega-rich list

I noted how troubled pop superstar Britney Spears sold the rights to her music catalogue in recent weeks.

The 44-year-old reportedly sold all of her songs to independent music publisher Primary Wave for around $200 million – and I genuinely hope the deal brings her some peace and happiness after years of protracted legal battles.

It’s hard to fathom how big Spears once was, and her music, including ‘Baby One More Time’ and ‘Oops!... I Did It Again’, will forever be associated with those strange years around the turn of the millennium for me.

Her last song was a duet with Elton John in 2022, and she’s since said she’ll never return to the music industry again. But, who knows? Stranger things have certainly happened.

Whatever you say about Britney and her well-publicised handlings, she’s self-made and has certainly done extremely well for herself.

To put her cool $200m into more context, Bob Dylan sold his music rights to Sony in 2022 for $500m, while Bruce Springsteen sold his back catalogue to Sony the previous year for around the same $500m mark.

Meanwhile, the largest music catalogue sale in history is Queen's 2024 deal with Sony Music, valued at approximately $1.27 billion.

And, to think, that when REM sold their songs to Warner Bros in 1996 for $80m, it was considered the biggest deal in music history at the time.

Spears takes her place at around tenth in the all-time music fire-sale list. In fact, she just might be the number one female artist on there, at the time of writing, which is all the more impressive given that she only released nine albums [a long way behind Willie Nelson’s total of 150-plus, and counting].

Despite all the ‘cricket score’ numbers in the industry these days though, I’m heartened to know that all the bitcoin in the world still can’t top Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, Springsteen’s ‘Thunder Road’, McCartney’s ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, or Willie’s priceless ‘On the Road Again’.

On the subject of music superstars, I bought Bad Bunny’s new album ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ on double white vinyl, which was just delivered this morning by the ever-reliable local An Post postman. How could I not, after THAT performance at the Super Bowl last weekend?

Full review to follow next week.

Printed words still number one

As an avid reader and advocate for books, magazines and newspapers [which we’ll all miss like crazy when they disappear], I was delighted to see that printed books remain much more popular than audio or e-books in Ireland still.

You just can’t beat the size, texture, and smell of a book in your hand, as you flick the pages.

The research found that printed books are preferred by about two-thirds of adults (65 per cent), four times that of e-books on 16 per cent and audiobooks on 11 per cent.

However, it’s not all good news. The new survey – compiled by Red C Research and commissioned by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) – also reports that 46 per cent of respondents said smartphones and tablets have reduced the amount of time they spend reading books. Quelle surprise.

Almost 2,000 adults across all 31 Local Authorities were surveyed ahead of the Libraries Ireland initiative, which looks to encourage people to read more during February, ahead of ‘Ireland Reads Day’ on Saturday, February 28th.

I realise it’s hardly a hot-take or a surprise that a newspaper columnist would advocate for the printed word, but there you have it.

I’m shamelessly in favour of words on paper, rather than the blinding headache-inducing screens.

I don’t like cricket; I love it

I have to say, I’m thoroughly enjoying the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, which continues in the host countries of India and Sri Lanka for the next month, ahead of the final on March 8.

The crowds for some of the initial games have been small so far – particularly in the gargantuan Indian stadiums, which have capacities up to 132,000 people – but the action has been superb for us armchair viewers on Sky Sports.

Last Wednesday morning’s clash between South Africa and Afghanistan in Ahmedabad was the best cricket match I’ve ever had the privilege to witness.

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The topsy-turvy match ended in a rare double ‘Super Over’ after both sides tied at 187 runs in regulation.

Following a 17-run deadlock in the first Super Over, South Africa eventually secured a 4-run victory in the second, saving themselves with a memorable six in the final ball of the first sudden-death over, courtesy of Tristan Stubbs’ most clutch shot of all-time.

Massive underdogs Afghanistan – who have only been playing first-class cricket since 2018 – came so close to making history with a first-ever win against South Africa, in scenes that will live forever in the memory.

And to underline how perilous things still are in the Taliban-controlled country, Jonathan Trott, the English head coach of Afghanistan for the past four years, has never actually set foot in the country yet! And likely never will.

Ireland have been holding their own in a difficult group in the 20-team tournament too, which is brilliant to see.

As the feel-good reggae song goes, “I don't like cricket, oh no; I love it . . . ”