Singer Justin Timberlake is the latest artist to sell the full copyright to his songs. The American star sold his catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management, thus imitating Neil Young, Lindsay Buckingham and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as the estate of Leonard Cohen.
Posted yesterday at 10:56 a.m.
According to the magazine RollingStone, Hypgnosis got their hands on 100% of the copyrights held by Timberlake – the amount of the transaction, however, has not been disclosed. The successes SexyBack, Rock Your Body, Suit and Tie and Can’t Stop the Feeling are therefore now owned by the firm founded by the Canadian Merck Mercuriadis, an artist’s agent who directed the destinies of several big names in music such as Beyoncé, Elton John, Guns N’Roses and Iron Maiden.
“I am excited to do business with Merck and Hipgnosis, it recognizes the value of artists and their creative work,” Timberlake said in a statement. He has always been an ardent defender of authors and composers. I can’t wait to start this new chapter in my career. »
Several songwriters have sold their rights recently, including pop stars Ryan Tedder and Bruno Mars. However, it’s mostly long-lived artists who have chosen to sell their huge catalogs of songs — Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen have both signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars while British band Pink Floyd are said to be on their way. to obtain similar treatment.
Companies like Hipgnosis hope to capitalize on the use of songs in movies, TV series, advertising or video games, as well as the reinterpretation of songs by other artists.