Hipgnosis Song Management company now owns 100 percent of Justin Timberlake’s music catalog.
On Friday, Hipgnosis announced they’ve purchased “all of Justin Timberlake’s copyright, ownership and financial interests of the writer and publisher’s share of public performance income. And the catalog of musical compositions written by Justin Timberlake.” The deal also included “the worldwide administration rights to the compositions. Subject to the remaining term of Universal Music’s administration rights, which expire in 2025.”
Justin’s music sales are currently over 150 million. This includes 88 million as a solo artist and 70 million with NSYNC. Right now, Justin is sitting on 25.6 monthly Spotify listeners with over 6.4 billion video views. He is also slowly approaching 10 million subscribers on YouTube.
“I am excited to be partnering with Merck and Hipgnosis. He values artists and their creative work and has always been a strong supporter of songwriters and storytelling,” Justin says. “I look forward to entering this next chapter.”
The purchase made by Hipgnosis was made on behalf of Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital (Hipgnosis Songs Capital ICAV). The “HSP” is a partnership between Hipgnosis Song Management and funds managed by private equity firm Blackstone.
“Justin Timberlake is not only one of the most influential artists of the last 20 years. But he’s also one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” Hipgnosis CEO Mercuriadis says. “His hit songs including ‘Cry Me a River,’ ‘Rock Your Body,’ ‘SexyBack,’ ‘My Love,’ ‘What Goes Around…Comes Around,’ ‘Suit & Tie,’ ‘Mirrors,’ and ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ are the most iconic of the period. Putting this deal together has been a complete labor of love.”
Hipgnosis has become a significant buyer of music catalogs. They previously closed deals with Neil Young and hits performed by Rihanna and Shakira.
