The whole music collection of Justin Bieber was auctioned for USD $200 million. According to Rolling Stone, the pop artist gave the Hipgnosis Songs Fund the rights to his songs. The sizable agreement covers 290 of his works that will be released by December 21, 2021. Therefore, the British investment and song management firm owns all of those beloved classics, such as “Baby,” “Love Me”, and even “Boyfriend”!
Leaving a Legacy
With this agreement, Hipgnosis has acquired a 100% interest in the publishing rights and the artist’s portion of the income from the 28-year-master old’s recordings, which are still owned by Universal Music Group. Additionally, they are entitled to neighboring rights, which apply to any public performances of his music. Following the announcement of the contract, Scooter Braun, Bieber’s longtime manager, said through CNN: “Justin is truly a once in a generation artist and that is reflected and acknowledged by the magnitude of this deal. For 15 years I have been grateful to witness this journey and today I am happy for all those involved. Justin’s greatness is just beginning.”
From a Business Perspective
Bieber joins a lengthy line of musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, Motley Crue, Sting, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, who have lately sold their libraries. Bieber is the biggest musician traded for in his generation, surpassing Springsteen, whose catalog was sold for an estimated $550 million. If you have something that’s popular, everyone wants to get in on it, according to Cynthia Katz of the legal firm Fox Rothschild, which has handled infamous deals like the sale of Motley Crue to BMG.
Taylor Swift, meanwhile, has chosen a totally different path. In 2019, after Big Machine Records, unknowing to her, sold her masters to her adversary Scooter Braun, the singer fought valiantly to regain creative control, even re-recording six of her first studio albums. She admitted that she made an attempt to repurchase them before the agreement with Braun was signed. Of course, not every singer is in to doing all the same the others do, but there lies the greatness of it all as money is always a powerful tool. A strategic move for singers, but it would be up to them to handle it all and prove their business prowess too!
