Donna Summer Estate Partners With Primary Wave on Singer’s Music, NIL Rights

Primary Wave Music has partnered with the estate of Donna Summer, the company announced on Wednesday (June 10). The deal will see Primary Wave work alongside Summer’s estate to expand the reach of her song catalog and recordings. It also includes her name, image and likeness (NIL) rights.

Through the agreement, Primary Wave will work closely with the estate on new marketing, branding digital and sync opportunities, along with film and TV projects. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to a press release, Summer, a primary force in bringing disco to the mainstream, has sold more than 100 million albums globally. Her catalog includes 17 studio albums, three of which went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That includes 1978’s Bad Girls, which spent six weeks atop the tally. She also enjoyed four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” “MacArthur Park” and “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).” A total of 14 of her songs hit the Hot 100’s top 10.

Other hits in Summer’s catalog include “I Feel Love,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “On the Radio” and “Love to Love You Baby.” Notably, Beyoncé recently sampled “I Feel Love” on “Summer Renaissance,” a track off her 2022 album Renaissance.

Over the course of her career, Summer was nominated for 18 Grammys and won five, including best female R&B vocal performance for “Last Dance,” best female rock vocal performance for “Hot Stuff” and best dance recording for “Carry On” with Giogio Moroder. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025.

Summer died in 2012 at age 63.