Justin Bieber has just earned £162m – but there’s a pretty big catch
Justin Bieber has sold his share of the rights to his music for a reported $200m (£162m).
Hipgnosis Songs Capital, who now own the Canadian’s share of his back catalogue, will now receive a payment anytime one of the songs is played in public.
The company have acquired the rights to the 290 songs Bieber released before 31 December 2021, which include the smash hits, Baby, Sorry and Love Yourself.
Musicians are increasingly selling stakes in their work to music funds – with stars including Justin Timberlake and Shakira also striking deals with Hipgnosis.
However, the trend is more common among older artists, with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon all recently securing multimillion-dollar deals for their work.
The Hipgnosis Songs Fund is a $1bn (£811m) venture between Hipgnosis Song Management and the financial firm Blackstone.
The fund floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2018.
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Merck Mercuriadis – who founded the fund – has previously said hit songs can be “more valuable than gold or oil”.
On striking the deal with Bieber, he said: “The impact of Justin Bieber on global culture over the last 14 years has truly been remarkable.
“At only 28 years of age, he is one of a handful of defining artists of the streaming era that has revitalized the entire music industry, taking a loyal and worldwide audience with him on a journey from teen phenomenon to culturally important artist.”
Bieber’s manager for 15 years, Scooter Braun, said: “When Justin made the decision to make a catalogue deal, we quickly found the best partner to preserve and grow this amazing legacy was Merck and Hipgnosis.”
