Justin Bieber is one of the biggest pop stars of the modern era. He may not churn out as many hits as he once did, but he is still a formidable force in music. Justin Bieber is the latest artist to sell the rights to his music catalog. More specifically, Justin Bieber sold the rights to his publishing and artist royalties. Reportedly, Justin raked in $200 million from the deal with Hipgnosis, which is a music rights investment company.
Hipgnosis is a London-based company that has been around since 2018. Merck Mercuriadis and the famous musician Nile Rodgers founded it. About Justin Bieber selling his music rights to Hipgnosis, Scooter Brun, Justin’s manager, had the following to say:
“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.”
According to Rolling Stone, this is the largest deal for an artist of Justin Bieber’s generation. Of course, Justin Bieber started his career in the late 2000s. Then, after being mentored by Usher, he released his first album, My World, in 2009.
Justin Bieber Isn’t The Only Artist To Sell Their Rights
Justin Bieber just sold his music rights in a landmark deal, but others have done the same recently. Some of the icons who have recently sold their music catalogs are Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Sting, and Justin Timberlake. In addition, more artists of Justin Bieber’s generation are also cashing in. It was announced that Iggy Azalea had sold her music rights late last year. The list also includes Imagine Dragons and the Hips Don’t Lie singer Shakira. Shakira also sold her rights to Hipgnosis. Katy Perry is also rumored to be in talks to sell her music rights.
The discussion of artists owning their rights is nothing new. However, in the past, it’s always been about retaining them. But, in a world where the artist makes less money from music than everyone else involved, it often makes sense to cash in for a large sum. This is especially true as not all music catalogs hold as much value as others. Some artists may continue to make millions from their back catalog for decades to come, but not all will.