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 Music rights deals infographic
Graphic shows selection of music publishing deals.
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BUSINESS

Superstar music publishing deals

By Duncan Mil

January 25, 2023 - Justin Bieber is the latest artist to sell the rights to his back catalogue. The Hipgnosis-Blackstone deal will exploit the value of the songs to receive revenue from global streaming sales.

Hipgnosis Song Management will control the Canadian singer’s entire portfolio released before 2022, comprising 290 tracks. London-based Hipgnosis Song Management and U.S. private equity group Blackstone will receive a payment every time a song is played publicly or streamed.

Bieber’s manager for 15 years, Scooter Braun, partially brokered the catalogue deal reported to be worth $200 million.

Merck Mercuriadis, the founder of Hipgnosis Song Management, says that hit songs can be “more valuable than gold or oil.”

The revival of songs used on TV shows -- like Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on the Netflix sci-fi TV show “Stranger Things” -- generates millions of dollars in royalty payments for the publishing rights holders.

Artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan have sold their songbooks to music companies for hundreds of millions of dollars. At the same time, private equity firms piled into the market in search of steady returns from royalties powered by the rise of online streaming.

Last year Goldman Sachs predicted that revenue in the global music industry would grow at a compound annual rate of 12 per cent between 2021 and 2030, with revenues hitting more than $150 billion.

“The impact of Justin Bieber on global culture over the last 14 years has truly been remarkable,” Mercuriadis said, announcing the latest deal.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 25/01/2023; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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