Justin Bieber sold music rights for $200 million

New York:

Pop juggernaut Justin Bieber has sold shares of his music publishing and recording catalog to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital for $200 million, the company said Tuesday — marking the industry’s latest blockbuster rights deal.

The sale has been rumored for weeks, and sees the 28-year-old joining a slew of artists who have recently cashed out on their catalogue.

Hipgnosis did not publicly disclose the terms of the deal, but a source close to the matter told AFP it was worth around $200 million.

Contemporary stars including Justin Timberlake and Shakira have sold large chunks of their work – both even signed deals with Hipgnosis – but the move has been seen mostly among legacy artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

The staggering sums — Springsteen’s catalog fetched Sony a reported half billion dollars — are considered safe bets for older artists, those looking to get their finances in order and investors looking for consistent returns from time-tested music and streaming. can rely on its viability. ,

Smaller catalogs are seen as risky territory, but Bieber is one of the best-selling artists of all time, and now some of Hipgnosis’ biggest hits of the 21st century include “Baby” and “Sorry.” Huh.

Hipgnosis Songs Capital is a $1 billion venture between finance giant Blackstone and British Hipgnosis Songs Management.

As per the deal, Hipgnosis has acquired Bieber’s publishing copyrights for his 290-song back catalog – all of his music released before December 31, 2021 – which also includes his author’s portion.

This includes artist rights to her lucrative master recordings as well as royalties from neighboring rights – a right that sees its owner receiving payment every time a song is played in public.

As Variety reports, Hipgnosis will receive the revenue, while Bieber’s longtime home will continue to manage Universal Catalog.

‘Excellent’

After the Canadian native was discovered on YouTube as a teen, Bieber rose to global fame, selling over 150 million records.

He has scored eight number-one records on Billboard’s Top Albums list, and his songs have been streamed over 32 billion times on Spotify alone.

“Justin Bieber’s impact on global culture over the past 14 years has been truly remarkable,” Mark Mercouridis, head of Hipgnosis, a longtime music industry executive, said in a statement.

“At only 28 years old, she is one of the defining artists of the streaming era who has revitalized an entire music industry, following her on her journey from teen phenomenon to culturally significant artist with a loyal and worldwide audience.” is taking.”

Bieber’s health has recently taken a turn for the worse, with the star going on an indefinite touring hiatus after he revealed he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare complication of shingles that left him with partial facial paralysis.

profitable asset class

Music catalogs have always changed hands, but current publication sales have increased rapidly, with financial markets increasingly drawn to music portfolios as an asset class.

Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis, which went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, has played a big role in publicizing the spike in sales.

The sector seemed to be cooling off over the past year, but the Bieber deal shows that investors are still hungry for music acquisitions.

Major deals with Springsteen and Dylan as well as across the industry included work from Sting, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, Mötley Crüe, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the estates of David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.

Owners of a song’s publishing rights receive a cut in a number of scenarios, including radio play and streaming, album sales, and use in advertising and films. Recording rights govern reproduction and distribution.

The flurry of sales came amid widespread negotiations over ownership of artists’ works, fueled in large part by Taylor Swift, who has found resounding success re-recording her first six albums in order to control her master recording rights. .

This stemmed from Swift’s very public feud with Scooter Braun, the music manager whose company was once owned by her original owner, and who later sold them to the investment firm Shamrock Holdings.

Braun has been Bieber’s manager for 15 years, and said in a statement, “When Justin decided to pursue a catalog deal, we found Merck and Hipgnosis the perfect partners to preserve and grow this amazing legacy.”

“Justin truly is a generation artist and that is reflected and acknowledged by the magnitude of this deal.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)