Sia Sells Half Her Music Catalog for $180M — But Her Ex May Get a Cut

Sia just turned the songs she spent decades writing into one of the biggest paydays of the year — but there’s a catch, and his name is Dan Bernard.

The 50-year-old “Elastic Heart” singer has sold half of her music catalog to Swedish investment company Pophouse for a reported $180 million, according to TMZ. Documents from her ongoing divorce proceedings spell out exactly how that mountain of money gets divided, and let’s just say her ex-husband isn’t walking away empty-handed.

It’s the kind of deal that used to make headlines once a year. Now? Catalog sales are the music industry’s favorite sport, and Sia — one of the most successful songwriters alive — just cashed in at the top of the market.

The $180 Million Breakdown

Here’s where it gets interesting. That $180 million isn’t one clean check. Per the documents obtained by TMZ, the payout is split based on when the songs were written — and that timing decides how much of it Bernard can touch.

About $165 million of the deal covers songs Sia wrote before she married Bernard, including era-defining smashes like “Chandelier” and “Cheap Thrills.” Bernard has reportedly agreed to waive any claim to that portion — but only if Sia hands him $1 million directly. A million bucks to walk away from $165 million sounds like a steal for Sia, honestly. Though when your marriage lasted barely two years, maybe neither party feels like fighting over the back catalog.

Then there’s the other $15 million, tied to songs written during their brief marriage. That chunk is being parked in escrow, where it’ll sit until the exes either reach a financial agreement or duke it out in court. Escrow is never a word you want associated with your divorce, but here we are.

Put it another way: Sia keeps the lion’s share either way. But that $15 million could still turn into a courtroom headache, and after the year she’s had, the last thing she needs is more legal bills.

A Divorce That Keeps Making Headlines

Sia’s split from Bernard has been anything but quiet. The two married in 2023, welcomed their son — Somersault Wonder Bernard — in early 2024 without telling anyone for months, and then Sia filed for divorce in March 2025 after roughly two years of marriage.

Earlier this year, the custody and support fight produced one genuinely jaw-dropping number: $42,500 a month in child support, paid by Sia to Bernard, with the former couple sharing joint custody of their son following what was described as a contentious custody battle.

Sia didn’t take that lying down, at least not publicly. She posted on X at the time that she’s “a sober working mom trying to buy peace,” noting that she has primary custody and is the only parent earning income — yet still pays California’s famously high child support. She also took a shot at her ex with a pointed post: “Good dads get jobs.” Subtle? No. Satisfying for her fans? Absolutely.

She later reflected on the whole ordeal, calling it “a horrific year” that taught her to “navigate incredibly difficult situations, prioritise my family and not absorb other people’s negativity.” Fair. Divorce is brutal for anyone; doing it under a microscope with nine-figure assets on the table is something else entirely.

Now the catalog sale has dragged the divorce math back into the spotlight. A $1 million waiver here, $15 million in escrow there — these are the kinds of figures that keep divorce lawyers in very nice cars.

Why the Catalog Is Worth Every Penny

Step back from the drama for a second and look at what Pophouse actually bought, because the catalog is genuinely staggering.

Sia isn’t just the wig-wearing enigma behind “Chandelier” — though that 2014 single alone, with its one-take dance video and Maddie Ziegler’s star-making performance, rewrote what a pop breakthrough could look like. Her own hits stretch across “Elastic Heart,” the Sean Paul-assisted “Cheap Thrills” (a genuine global phenomenon in 2016), and “Unstoppable,” a song that somehow became the unofficial anthem of every sports montage and workout playlist on the planet.

But her real fortune was built behind the scenes. Before she was a household name as a performer, Sia was pop’s secret weapon — the songwriter other stars called when they needed a hit. She co-wrote Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts,” and David Guetta’s “Titanium” (on which she also sang, lending that unmistakable rasp to one of the biggest EDM crossovers ever). The list of artists she’s written for reads like a Grammy seating chart.

That body of work has driven billions of streams and earned her nine Grammy nominations. Selling half of it for $180 million implies the full catalog is worth around $360 million — a number that sounds absurd until you remember these songs get played, licensed, covered, and synced into movies and ads every single day, forever. This isn’t a depreciating asset. It’s a money printer with a forty-year warranty.

The Catalog Gold Rush Rolls On

Sia’s deal is just the latest in a feeding frenzy that’s been reshaping the music business for years. Artists from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen to Justin Bieber have sold their publishing rights for eye-watering sums, betting that a guaranteed nine-figure check today beats decades of royalty drip-feeds.

Pophouse, for its part, knows exactly what it’s doing. The Swedish firm — co-founded with ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus — has been quietly assembling one of the most formidable catalog portfolios in the business, with stakes in the work of Avicii, Cyndi Lauper, KISS, Swedish House Mafia, and Tina Turner. Adding Sia’s songbook to that collection is a statement: Pophouse isn’t just buying songs, it’s buying the soundtrack of the last two decades.

In a statement confirming the deal, Sia sounded genuinely enthusiastic about the partnership: “I’m really excited to be working with Pophouse. These songs mean so much to me, and I love that they really understand that and want to take care of them.” She added that after making music for a very long time, it feels exciting to imagine “all the new and different ways these songs might get to live on and find people.”

That’s the pitch every catalog buyer makes — we’re not just buying your past, we’re investing in your songs’ future. Whether that means new remixes, sync placements, or ventures Sia hasn’t dreamed up yet, Pophouse is betting $180 million that “Chandelier” still hits in 2046.

What’s Next for Sia

If there’s a silver lining to the divorce saga, it’s that Sia’s professional star has never been brighter. She was recently announced as one of the upcoming inductees set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2027 — a fitting honor for an artist who spent years hiding her face and letting the music do the talking, only to become one of pop’s most recognizable voices anyway.

There’s a certain poetry to it. Sia built her solo career on anonymity — the oversized wigs, the back-to-the-audience performances, the refusal to play the fame game on its usual terms. And now she’s walking away with $180 million for the songs themselves, no face required.

The divorce loose ends will take time to untangle. That $15 million in escrow isn’t going anywhere until she and Bernard settle their differences, and $42,500-a-month child support checks don’t write themselves. But with $165 million effectively secured and a Hollywood star on the way, Sia is heading into the next chapter of her life — and career — with a war chest most artists can only dream of.

Not bad for a songwriter who once preferred you didn’t look at her.

Source: Just Jared