Queen have reportedly sold their music back catalogue to Sony Music for an industry-record £1 billion.

The group were formed in 1970 by the late Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor - and since 2011 they have been touring worldwide with Adam Lambert as their frontman.

The band have a plethora of iconic hits to their credit, including 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'We Will Rock You' and 'Somebody To Love', and have notched up an estimated 300 million record sales worldwide.

According to HITS Daily Double, Sony have reached agreement on a £1 billion deal for Queen's recording and publishing rights - and will now be able to exploit them accordingly, including with a potential new stage show.

Specifically excluded from the deal is live receipts, which will continue to be generated by May and Taylor.

The £1 billion deal easily eclipses the rumoured £400m that Sony paid for Bruce Springsteen's catalogue, while Bob Dylan secured a combined £475m for his a few years ago.