Canadian singer Justin Bieber sold the rights to his music catalog to Hipgnosis for $200 million, thus following the path of artists such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, the company and a source close to the case reported.
The Wall Street Journal had reported in December that the artist was giving up his rights for some 200 million dollars, a figure confirmed to AFP on Tuesday by a source close to the case.
“Hipgnosis has acquired all of Justin Bieber’s interests in his publishing rights (including the author’s portion of the performance), master recordings and related rights to his entire catalogue,” said Hipgnosis, the music rights management company that already He owns those of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, without confirming the amount.
The repertoire includes more than 290 songs released before December 31, 2021, including his biggest hits “Baby”, “Sorry” and “Love Yourself”.
According to another source close to the case, which confirms information from Variety magazine, Universal will nevertheless continue to manage the singer’s catalogue, with six platinum albums (one million copies sold) or multi-platinum (several million).
The corporation will also retain possession of the recording rights to the songs (or master rights), the source said.
Bieber has more than 30,000 million listeners on Spotify.
“Justin Bieber’s impact on world culture over the past 14 years has been exceptional,” said Hipgnosis founder and CEO Merck Mercuriadis, Elton John’s former manager.
The deal is the latest in a long line of purchases of artist catalog publishing rights or copyrights, which have become valuable assets, especially with the streaming revolution.
And beyond music streaming, companies like Hipgnosis also monetize their catalog on more recent platforms like TikTok or Roblox.
The purchase was part of Hipgnosis’s association with the financial management firm Blackstone, which announced at the end of 2021 an investment of 1,000 million dollars to continue buying music.
David Bowie, Tina Turner or Leonard Cohen have also participated in similar operations.
At 28, “Justin Bieber is one of the best-selling music artists of all time,” boasts Hipgnosis.
The sale comes in a difficult year for Bieber due to health problems. “I’ll be fine, but I need to rest and be better,” said the singer.
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