Morrissey places his stake in The Smiths up for sale: “I have had enough of malicious associations”
Morrissey has placed his rights to The Smiths’ business interests up for sale.
In a blog post on his website, Morrisey Solo, a statement said that he has “no choice but to offer for sale all of his business interests in ‘The Smiths’ to any interested party / investor”.
As part of an agreement, it states that the buyer would receive his full and exclusive rights to ‘The Smiths’ as a name, all Smiths artwork, all Smiths merchandising rights, all Smiths songs lyrically and musically, all synchronisation rights, all Smiths recordings, and all contractual rights to The Smiths publishing.
Morrissey also issued a statement himself, detailing his reasoning for placing his business interests on the market. He began: “I am burnt out by any and all connections to Marr, Rourke, Joyce. I have had enough of malicious associations.”
The vocalist continued: “With my entire life I have paid my rightful dues to these songs and these images. I would now like to live disassociated from those who wish me nothing but ill-will and destruction, and this is the only resolution.”
“The songs are me – they are no one else – but they bring with them business communications that go to excessive lengths to create as much dread and spite year after year,” he added.
The former Smiths frontman then explained that he’s putting himself first, concluding, “I must now protect myself, especially my health.”
He then instructed any serious investors to contact [email protected] to enquire about further information. The rights to The Smiths’ back catalogue are currently shared 50/50 between Morrissey and Johnny Marr.
Last year, Marr and Morrissey entered a public spat regarding The Smiths after the singer revealed news of a lucrative opportunity to reunite. He wrote on his website, “In June 2024, AEG Entertainment Group made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Marr to tour worldwide as ‘The Smiths’ throughout 2025. Morrissey said Yes to the offer; Marr ignored the offer.”
Additionally, Morrissey made a series of claims about Marr regarding trademarks related to the band, which the guitarist explained were made in order to “prevent third parties from profiting from the band’s name”. He also confirmed it was true he’d snubbed the reunion, writing, “As for the offer to tour, I didn’t ignore the offer – I said no“.
This year, Morrissey toured the United Kingdom and Europe, which included a huge hometown date at the Co-op Live in Manchester. However, many of the dates on the continent were cancelled with Morrissey citing having “absolutely zero music industry support” as a reason.
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