Modern-day pop music would never be the same without Justin Bieber’s discography. The Canadian singer has been an unstoppable hit machine for so long that “Baby” feels like a lifetime ago. But the music industry’s big news is that the Biebs is selling his music rights for $200 million.
Read to find out what it means for Bieber’s fans and why he did it.
The $200 million deal
Rumors of Justin Bieber’s music rights sales deal have been floating around for weeks. And now, they are on the verge of becoming true.
- The “Peaches” singer is selling the rights to his music, his publishing shares, and his recorded music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital, backed by Blackstone. The deal is reportedly worth $200 million.
- Universal Music Group will still claim ownership of Justin Bieber’s music even after this deal is finalized. People from the music industry and Justin Bieber’s fans anxiously await an official confirmation on this deal.
Why did Justin sell his music rights
Justin Bieber’s $200 million deal with Hipgnosis is the latest in a series of similar deals done by artists. This comes after Spotify and Apple Music have hiked the value of back catalogs.
.@justinbieber’s albums — Spotify Monthly Update (June):
“My World 2.0” — 1.520B (+35.4M)
“My Worlds” — 2.150B (+52M)
“Under the Mistletoe” — 1.051B (+1.6M)
“Believe” — 1.654B (+22.9M)
“Purpose” — 8.358B (+63.8M)
“Changes” — 2.604B (+31.1M)
“Justice” — 5.249B (+190.6M) pic.twitter.com/G8erlVIWlX— Justin Bieber Charts (@JBieberCharts) July 3, 2022
- A back catalog refers to a musician’s recorded past work rather than their latest unreleased music. The demand for catalogs was red-hot until recently but now asking prices, interest rates and capital gains taxes have risen.
- Justin Bieber selling his music rights reflects a rising trend among young artists to cash in on their older music. Only seasoned artists preferred selling their song-catalogs earlier.
Song-catalog rights sales
Before buying Bieber’s music rights, Hipgnosis acquired Justin Timberlake’s song-catalog for over $100 million. Hipgnosis also purchased legendary artist Leonard Cohen’s music rights.
- A year ago, Bruce Springsteen sold his song-catalog rights to Sony Music for $500 million and Bob Dylan sold a majority of his shares to Universal Music Group for $300 million.
Tough times for Bieber
It’s clearly not the best of times for Justin Bieber. His concert tours have been getting delayed by one reason after another since 2020.
- Apart from the pandemic, Bieber has been battling Ramsay Hunt Syndrome which paralyzed half of his face.
- Bieber returned to live concerts in July but since then, he has canceled most of his tour dates owing to his exhaustion.
By selling their song-catalog rights and publishing shares, artists like Justin Bieber can eliminate uncertainty over their work and capture a ton of money. After all, streaming is the future.
RELATED NEWS: Hailey Bieber shocks the world with the Ovarian Cyst announcement; Was she pregnant prior to this?
You can also share any questions you have about Justin Bieber. Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.
