Justin Bieber is close to a deal to sell his music rights to Blackstone Inc. Hipgnosis Songs Capital in a transaction valued at around $200 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The potential deal includes the pop star’s interest in both his publishing and recorded music catalog, the people say, and comes as such transactions are becoming harder to close, music executives say.
While the music catalog market exploded amid the low-interest-rate environment of the pandemic, buyers are having more trouble financing deals and rationalizing the multiples artists are seeking as the cost of borrowing money has gone up.
The 28-year-old “Love Yourself” singer and his songs are considered young in the music copyright market, which has exploded primarily on the back of older artists cashing in on their life’s work. Though artists such as Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen have sought deals to help cement their legacies and participate in tax benefits, some younger artists including John Legend and Ryan Tedder have moved to capitalize on the market.
The Hipgnosis Songs Fund is building up a catalogue of hit songs - and inviting big institutional investors to share in the proceeds.
The fund floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2018.
The man who founded it, Merck Mercuriadis, previously said hit songs can be "more valuable than gold or oil".
"The impact of Justin Bieber on global culture over the last 14 years has truly been remarkable," he said, announcing the latest deal.
