Justin Bieber Reportedly Nears $200MM Hipgnosis Catalog Sale

Hipgnosis is reportedly closing in on an roughly $200 million deal for the publishing and recorded catalogs of Justin Bieber.

Rumblings of this newest song-rights play from Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Music Administration and Hipgnosis Songs Capital (to not be confused with the publicly traded Hipgnosis Songs Fund) only in the near past got here to mild in a report from the Wall Avenue Journal.

However on the time of this writing, execs at Blackstone and Merck Mercuriadis-led Hipgnosis didn’t seem to have commented publicly on the matter, and Justin Bieber didn’t appear to have broached the topic on social media. In accordance with the talked about report, nevertheless, the deal would cowl the “Keep” artist’s recorded and publishing pursuits alike, presumably spanning the whole lot of his greater than decade-long profession.

Along with delivering a roughly $200 million paycheck to the 28-year-old singer, the rumored transaction would mark the most important funding thus far for Hipgnosis Songs Capital/Hipgnosis Music Administration, per nameless sources with data of the matter.

Earlier in 2022, Hipgnosis Music Administration finalized a reportedly $100 million deal for the catalog of Justin Timberlake, moreover buying stakes within the work of Kenny Chesney and Leonard Cohen. (Royalties from these and different rights had been in the end bundled right into a $222 million bond providing.) The aforementioned Hipgnosis Songs Fund (LON: SONG), for its half, has maxed out its debt and, because of this, abstained from scooping up catalogs in 2022.

Earlier than that, the publicly traded entity closed all method of offers in 2020-21, and however an ongoing stock-price slip, the fund has opted to not cut back the estimated worth of its IP holdings.

Particularly, Citrin Cooperman recognized an “combination truthful worth” of $2.672 billion for HSF’s 146 catalogs, encompassing 65,413 songs, as of September thirtieth. Hipgnosis itself pinpointed an “operative NAV” of $2.218 billion, in comparison with a market cap of about £1.02 billion when buying and selling wrapped at present.

The relative operational difficulties affecting HSF, continued demand for catalogs from different events, and traits all through the broader financial system evidently haven’t prompted Hipgnosis to stop pursuing offers altogether, although. To make sure, a number of stories this 12 months instructed that the corporate and Blackstone had additionally tried to ink a catalog-buyout settlement with Pink Floyd.

Even so, newly surfaced particulars – together with that Pink Floyd is reportedly all for parting with its recordings however not its publishing – have raised doubts about whether or not the group will really promote in any case.

Past catalog gross sales from legacy artists, a variety of whom have cashed in on their work throughout 2020, 2021, and 2022, youthful acts comparable to Swedish Home Mafia, John Legend, Bryson Tiller, Murda Beatz, Future, and Iggy Azalea have bought their music rights in 2022.