Pete Townshend hints at future music from The Who, as he signs lucrative Primary Wave deal
The Who’s Pete Townshend has hinted at new music from the band after agreeing a deal with Primary Wave, which will see them work together on “the exploitation of his name, image, and likeness and the development and exploitation of future creative projects”.
According to a press release issued by Primary Wave, they believe the “potential for branding and content opportunities is boundless” and stated their digital department will work with Townshend to also “establish a footprint across social media channels”.
Although the financial details have not been disclosed, Variety reports it’s worth a nine-figure sum.
In a statement, Townshend said, “Moving forward with my creative and performative work with Primary Wave, at this time of my life when most creatives might be slowing down, is a joy for me. Their entire team exhibit an energy that is truly stimulating. Challenging too. I need that.”
Townshend added, “I write songs, stories and poetry, and even draw and paint almost every day of my life. I work with musicians and other creatives, and spend a lot of my time building charitable solutions for organisations that help young creative people grow and succeed in this very hard time. Music is my main medium.”
More intriguingly for fans, however, is that Townshend also hinted that The Who may not be quite done, despite retiring from touring in 2025 with a farewell tour in North America, sharing, “Then there is Roger [Daltrey] and all my friends and colleagues in and around The Who. We are always trying to come up with SOMETHING special, and God Willing will continue to do that, hoping one day we can astound you the way we used to.”
During their last concert, Townshend did tell fans, “I’m sure we’ll get up to all kinds of mischief, we’ll do stuff together,” even though they had waved goodbye to life as a touring band.
In recent decades, The Who have firmly existed primarily as a live band rather than a studio outfit. While they released Who in 2019, it was their first album in 13 years, and only their second full-length record containing original material since 1982.
Now, it remains to be seen if anything does materialise going forward.
Meanwhile, Primary Wave’s CEO and founder, Larry Mestel, described Townshend as “one of the greatest and most influential rock icons in music history” and said his company “look forward to creating new opportunities together”.
Townshend previously struck a deal in 2012 with Spirit Music to acquire his publishing rights for a reported $100 million. According to Variety, the company no longer holds those rights to beloved Who classics, which they report are included in the Primary Wave deal.
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