Merck Mercuriadis: Last News

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The already-complicated battle over control of Hipgnosis Songs Fund grew even more so on Saturday, as the private equity firm Blackstone bid $1.5 billion to the troubled fund — which includes the rights to catalogs by Neil Young, Shakira, Blondie, Journey, Lindsey Buckingham and others — pushing aside Concord’s $1.4 offer made earlier in the week. Blackstone already owns two other elements of Hipgnosis — the investment fund Hipgnosis Songs Capital and the advisor Hipgnosis Song Management — and the move reflects founder Merck Mercuriadis’ determination to retain control of the company.

Sky News), with the brand owning the rights to music by Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young and more.It also comes after the value of the portfolio dropped, and the company reportedly halted investor payouts “for the foreseeable future”.The report – carried out by its lead adviser Shot Tower – showed that the value had declined by at least a fifth on that reported by Hipgnosis in September 2023.The music fund – set up and launched by Chic legend Nile Rodgers and Merck Mercuriadis (former manager of Elton John and Beyoncé) – was mired by financial troubles last year. These included concerns around valuations, board and legal battles and a shareholder revolt against a catalogue sale deal.Last December, Hipgnosis was set to share its half-year results, but said it was delaying the publication of the results due to concerns that music catalogues and songs are not being valued high enough.The pause was set to last between mid-December and the end of March, and yesterday (March 4) it was confirmed that the pause would continue.As highlighted by Sky News, approximately 65 per cent of Hipgnosis’s royalties come as a result of passive publishing, performance and recorded music income streams.

Chic legend Nile Rodgers and Merck Mercuriadis – former manager of acts including Elton John and Beyoncé – and was set to share its half-year results today (December 19).However, it has confirmed that it will be delaying the publication of the results due to concerns that music catalogues and songs are not being valued high enough amid a sale.As reported by The Independent, the UK firm decided to sell just under 30 music catalogues to the sister fund, backed by investment giant Blackstone in September this year.The deal valued the assets at about $418million (£360million), however, this number was down by nearly a quarter compared to the valuation it was given back in March.It came as the company revealed it did not receive any better offers as interested parties “could not justify” a higher price, and also sold 20,000 “non-core” songs for about $23million (£20 million) – nearly a 15 per cent discount on a September valuation.Amid the potential sale, Hipgnosis – which spent $1billion (£720m) acquiring artists’ back catalogues in 2021 – stated that the valuation received from an independent valuer is “materially higher than the valuation implied by proposed and recent transactions in the sector”.As confirmed by the outlet, a spokesperson for Hipgnosis has said that the company has sought advice from its investment adviser, Hipgnosis Songs Management, which gave the board “concerns as to the valuation of the company’s assets in its interim results”.It was also reported that the fund launched a strategic review two months ago, which could potentially lead to the replacement of founder and chief executive Mercuriadis.The half-year results are now expected to be published by December 31.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Hipgnosis Songs Fund — the company that led the music-catalog gold rush of recent years by spending more than $2 billion for song assets by Neil Young, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others — is facing an uncertain future as some 83.2% of its investors voted Thursday that a new board make major structural changes to the overextended company. Investors also rejected a proposal by its leadership to shore up its finances by selling off around $440 million of its 65,000-song catalog to a sister fund backed by Blackstone.

Hipgnosis has confirmed that its much rumoured deal with Justin Bieber is now in the bag. Under the deal, worth a reported $200 million, Hipgnosis acquires all of the star’s existing song rights, as well as artist royalty and remuneration rights in relation to his recordings.If you’re interested in the technicalities of who did the deal and where the cash came from to fund it, the whole thing was negotiated by Hipgnosis Song Management on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, which is Hipgnosis’s partnership with investment outfit Blackstone.Although it’s an extensive deal – with Hipgnosis also securing the so called writer’s share of song income – the price tag is particularly impressive given that Bieber is still only 28 years old.Most of the previous mega-bucks rights acquisition deals have involved older musicians with much longer careers and therefore catalogues that contain plenty of songs with proven longevity in terms of popularity and income generation.Although, as Hipgnosis was keen to point out in its statement confirming the deal, Bieber has impressive stats to accompany the impressive price tag.

Karen Bliss Merck Mercuriadis, founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Songs, was the man of the hour — make that the day — Thursday at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, returning to his native country for three separate sessions. While one saw him presenting the Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award (named, of course, after the legendary Chic cofounder and his partner in Hipgnosis) to singer, songwriter and record producer James Fauntleroy and, virtually, to hip hop record producer Dion “No ID” Wilson and another was giving Public Enemy founder Chuck D the organization’s first annual Social Justice Honors Award, most notable was his featured keynote, at which he reinforced his company’s stated mission to change the dynamic of the music industry so that songwriters are on top.

Leonard Cohen is the latest artist whose song rights have been bought, after his estate reached a deal with the Hipgnosis Songs Fund for an undisclosed sum.According to Rolling Stone, the deal includes all 278 songs that Cohen wrote, including his most popular songs ‘Hallelujah’, ‘Suzanne’, ‘So Long, Marianne’, ‘First We Take Manhattan’ and more.The investment company obtained the “songwriter’s share” of 127 songs from Cohen’s Stranger Music catalogue, which covers the period of the inception of late musician’s career through to the year 2000; derivative works pushes the total to 211 songs.Hipgnosis also acquired the ownership of 100 per cent of the copyrights, “publisher’s share” and “songwriter’s share” of royalties of the latter part of his catalogue, spanning from 2001 to his death in 2016.“To now be the custodians and managers of Leonard Cohen’s incomparable songs is a wonderful yet very serious responsibility that we approach with excitement and fully understand the importance of,” Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said in a statement.“Leonard wrote words and songs that have changed our lives, none more so obvious than ‘Hallelujah’ but there are so many more that we look forward to reminding the world of on a daily basis.

Hipgnosis has acquired an 80% stake in the recorded music royalties of country artist Kenny Chesney. The deal, which covers Chesney’s full catalogue, is the first that Hipgnosis has made since announcing a new partnership with investment firm Blackstone in October last year.“Kenny Chesney is one of the truly great American artists”, says Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Song Management has acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, the company announced, covering his discography from his 1994 debut “In My Wildest Dreams” through 2017’s “Live in No Shoes Nation.” The catalog includes 22 albums, 15 of which are certified platinum. The deal is the first acquisition made by Hipgnosis Song Management since its recently announced partnership with Blackstone to acquire music rights and manage catalogs.Terms of the deal were not announced.Chesney is one of the top-selling country performers — and one of the top-grossing live artists — of the past 25 years, with more than 30 million albums sold worldwide.

Gallery: China now owns these famous Western names (Lovemoney)The deal for the catalogue could be announced as soon as this week, the report added. This comes close on the heels of another major private equity investment in the music industry when Blackstone Inc partnered with an advisory firm owned by music executive Merck Mercuriadis to buy music rights and record songs.

Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie, who wrote iconic hits such as ‘Little Lies’ and ‘Don’t Stop’, has become the latest artist to sell her back catalogue of hits to Hipgnosis.The singer-songwriter sold the copyright of 115 songs to the London firm for an undisclosed fee, which gives investors the chance to take advantage of royalties from a selection of classic hits.Merck Mercuriadis, the founder and chief executive of Hipgnosis, said: “In the last 46 years the band have had three distinct writers and vocalists but Christine’s importance is amply demonstrated by the fact that eight of the 16 songs on the band’s Greatest Hits albums are from Christine.”Mercuriadis, the former manager of Beyoncé and Elton John, obtained the catalogue of McVie’s

Gallery: The 100 greatest songs of all time (Espresso)The deal will see Hipgnosis take control of the Grammy award-winning songwriter’s entire catalogue of 178 songs. Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis described Little as “one of the most important songwriters in the world today”.

DEALSHipgnosis has acquired the catalogue of songwriter and producer Joel Little – best known for his work with Lorde. “Joel is one of the most important songwriters in the world today”, says Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis.

Dua Lipa and Justin Bieber’s back catalogue just last week. “Andy has shaped the sound of great records for almost 40 years now and from seminal albums such as Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ to Jeff Buckley’s iconic ‘Grace’ and through landmark albums for Coldplay, Foo Fighters et al, he has had an award-winning career that has defined what rock music sounds like,” founder of Hipgnosis, Merck Mercuriadis, said.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs has acquired yet another catalog, this one from Andrew Watt, who recently was named 2021 Grammy Producer of the Year for his work with Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Post Malone and Ozzy Osbourne. Watt has co-written such massive hits as “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, “Havana” by Camila Cabello, “Let Me Love You” by DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber, “Eastside” by Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid, “Youngblood” by 5 Seconds of Summer and many more.

The good old Hipgnosis Songs Fund has acquired the catalogue of songwriter Carole Bayer Sager because, well, why the hell not? After all, the deal covers classic songs like ‘A Groovy Kind Of Love’, ‘Nobody Does It Better’ and ‘That’s What Friends Are For’.“This is one of the most important deals we have ever made”, says Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis. “Carole’s iconic songs have been making the world go around for more than 55 years.

Geoff Mayfield “Think about Michael Jackson’s stake in music publishing,” says Nick Jarjour, global head of song management for Hipgnosis. “How much would his half of Sony/ATV have been worth if we were using today’s valuations?”The answer to his hypothetical question, without adjusting for inflation, is that the $95 million Jackson got for selling 50% of ATV to Sony in 1999 would be worth more than $2.3 billion using 2021 multiples.

Bob Dylan’s catalog deal with Universal Music Publishing Group fetched between $300 million and $400 million, 33,000 songs from Kobalt Music to Hipgnosis Songs Fund got around $323 million and the masters from Taylor Swift’s first six albums cost Shamrock Capital around $300 million. In 2020 and into 2021, music IP is sizzling, with no sign of demand waning.Most of the action has been in the song rights and publishing space, stirred by London-based Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis’ aggressive pursuit of songwriters’ shares.That hunt began when Hipgnosis plunked down $23 million for the catalog of rapper, writer and producer The-Dream in 2018.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMusic publishing veteran Richard Rowe has been named executive vice president of Hipgnosis Songs, effective immediately, founder Merck Mercuriadis announced.Rowe began his career at CBS Records in 1979 as a lawyer in its business affairs department before rising through the ranks to become president of Sony Music Publishing from 1991 to 2005. During his tenure the company merged with ATV Music Publishing, bringing the Beatles’ catalog into the company’s repertoire, as well as the acquisition of Acuff-Rose Music, which included the catalogs of Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers.After leaving Sony ATV, Rowe co-founded Round Hill Music in 2010, where as vice chairman, he helped bring in Carlin Music, Eddie

Read more: Hits Don’t Lie: Shakira sells entire song catalogue to HipgnosisThe catalogue comprises 43 songs in total, including Metallica’s self-titled album and four number one Michael Buble albums — Call Me Irresponsible, Crazy Love, Christmas and To Be Loved. “The breadth of Bob Rock’s enormous successes is almost impossible to match by any creator in the history of music,” said Hipgnosis boss Merck Mercuriadis.

The Hipgnosis Songs Fund has started the year with a flurry of acquisitions, including a big one that involves taking a 50% stake in the entire global songs catalogue of Neil Young. That’s 1180 songs by Young that Hipgnosis now co-owns, via a deal that reportedly set the firm back $150 million.“I bought my first Neil Young album aged seven”, says Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis.