Hipgnosis acquires poet and musician Leonard Cohen’s catalog of songs, including his cult “Hallelujah”

Hipgnosis Song Management has acquired the song catalog of singer and poet Leonard Cohen, the latest in a series of star music catalog sales.

Hipgnosis indicates in a press release that it has obtained the rights to the 278 songs and derivative works composed by the Montreal poet, including the famous Hallelujah. The amount of the transaction concluded with the heirs of the singer-songwriter, who died at 82 in 2016, has not been revealed.

Of the total, 127 songs come from Leonard Cohen’s Stranger Music catalog for which Hipgnosis has acquired the singer’s royalties for songs written from the start of his career to the year 2000. The company also says it owns all rights (royalties from singer and publisher) for works composed by the artist from 2001 to his death.

“Becoming stewards and managers of the incomparable songs of Leonard Cohen is a wonderful responsibility that we welcome with enthusiasm and whose importance we measure”said the Canadian founder of Hipgnosis Song Management, Merck Mercuriadis.

Leonard Cohen’s heirs were notably represented by Robert Kory, who was the singer’s manager for a long time. The acquisition was made on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a partnership between Hipgnosis Song Management and Blackstone LLP.

Hipgnosis has already bought the catalogs of several stars, including those of the American-Canadian singer Neil Young or the rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Several well-known artists have sold their catalogs to music industry giants for large sums. British singer Sting thus sold his entire catalog in February for a sum of around 250 million dollars, according to American media estimates.

By 2021, Bruce Springsteen had sold his music rights to Sony for an estimated record amount of nearly half a billion dollars, while Bob Dylan did the same with Universal Music for some $300 million.