Pop star Justin Bieber is currently in talks to sell his music rights to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a mere $200 million.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported this week that people familiar with the matter disclosed that Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a Blackstone-backed company, is purchasing Justin Bieber’s entire catalog. Additionally, the potential deal will include the Canadian artist’s interest in both his publishing and recorded music catalogs.
A source added that this deal will be Hipgnosis’s largest music-rights acquisition.
Justin Bieber has released six albums, the most recent of which was Justice, via Def Jam/Universal Music last year. The development is taking place during a troubled time for the singer. Just weeks ago, he had to postpone the remaining dates in his Justice tour until an unspecified time in 2023.
The tour, which was originally scheduled to be launched in 2020, has been postponed or delayed several times, initially due to the pandemic but most recently after he battled with the Ramsay Hunt syndrome. It was finally launched in March and covered most of North America but Justin Bieber postponed the remaining dates in June after divulging his difficulties with the disease.
His upcoming deal is also reported seven months after Justin Timberlake sold his song catalog to Hipgnosis for $100 million, according to the WSJ.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund is a British music IP investment and song management firm, founded in 2018 by Merck Mercuriadis & Nile Rodgers. It purchases song catalogs from artistes and earns revenue when the music is used in advertising or is streamed online.
So, why is Justin Bieber considering selling his entire catalog?
The companies involved in acquiring music rights believe that the rights can generate long-term income from licensing deals and royalty payments.
‘Catalog music’, which is music that has been released over 18 months prior, made up 72.4% of the American music market in mid-2022, while new music made up the remaining 27.6%.
Meanwhile, streaming users are listening to old music as well and the 200 most popular songs of 2021 were only streamed five percent of the time in 2021. Other forms of pop culture can influence streaming success. For example, TikTok trends can put a classic song back onto the charts again.
People are concerned about how a hitmaker like Justin Bieber could even consider wanting to sell his entire catalog for so low. Some opined that the price has been set based on the percentage of his music that he owns, which is thought to be 20%.
He only owns 20% so technically his music is valued at 1 billy
— ShitCorns (@ShitCorns) December 22, 2022
Justin Bieber may have gotten lucky with his music rights deal as the market for back catalogs could be cooling. Higher interest rates are also hindering potential buyers from getting financing, and a looming economic slowdown is dampening income projections from song rights, as per the WSJ.
