Justin Bieber reportedly close to selling entire catalogue for $200million
Justin Bieber is reportedly closing in on a deal to sell the rights to his entire back catalogue for around $200million (£166.3million).
According to the Wall Street Journal, the singer is in the process of selling the rights to Hipgnosis Songs Capital in what would be the biggest acquisition in the company’s history. They previously acquired the rights to Justin Timberlake‘s discography for just over $100million (£83.1million).
If a deal were to go through, Hipgnosis would collect revenue from Bieber’s recorded music and songwriting royalty streams. However, Universal Music Group still owns his master recordings.
Bieber has yet to respond to the reports.
In recent years, it has become more and more popular for artists to sell the rights to their back catalogues. Phil Collins and Genesis sold their publishing rights and master recordings for $300million earlier this year, while Pink Floyd were looking to do the same for around £400million. In addition, rapper Nas recently sold the royalty rights to two of his songs as NFTs.
Elsewhere, Bieber recently called out H&M for selling a line of merchandise containing his image and lyrics without his permission, calling the items “trash” and encouraging his fans not to buy them. H&M responded by axing the products “out of respect” for Bieber, but insisted that they had gone through the necessary procedures to get permission to sell the merchandise.
“As with all other licensed products and partnerships, H&M followed proper approval procedures,” a spokesperson for the fashion retailer said [via BBC News]. “But out of respect for the collaboration and Justin Bieber, we have removed the garments from our stores and online.”
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Emma Wilkes
NME
