Daughter of music manager Peter Grant puts Led Zeppelin stake up for sale

Virgin Radio

19 Jul 2023, 12:53

Helen Grant, daughter of Peter Grant, the music manager credited as the driving force behind Led Zeppelin’s success, has shared she will be selling her 10% stake in the band. 

The share covers the business of Led Zeppelin, including sound recording rights, publishing rights and royalties from sources such as sales, streams, radio airplay, public performances, synchronisation fees and the band’s other ventures in trademarks and merchandise. 

Helen inherited her 10% stake in Led Zeppelin after her father’s death in 1995 but claims she has been thinking about the sale for years. The decision comes in conjunction with a number of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young and members of Fleetwood Mac, concluding deals to sell their back catalogues for reported nine-figure sums. 

Talking to the Guardian about her decision, the 59-year-old shared that it “felt like the time was right for me to part ways. I’ve got five children, four step-children and seven grandchildren. It’s time to move on. And it’ll be incredible to be able to do something with Dad’s legacy- maybe a film or documentary.”

Once described as “one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history”, Peter Grant negotiated Led Zeppelin’s five year contract with Atlantic records and fought for them to get a previously unprecedented 90% concert earnings. Grant became a central figure in the shift of power towards artists and managers rather than agents within the industry.

Speaking of her father’s legacy, Helen said her father put his artists on a pedestal,  “anything they wanted or needed, Dad would get on with it. He took care of everything. There would be no Led Zeppelin as we know it without him. He was the driving force.”

“I’m so lucky that even though 30 years have passed since his death, I can still Google him and look at his pictures when I feel unsure and down.”

Helen shared that she was hopeful she would find “the right person” among those interested in the stake.