Like many an artist before him Justin Timberlake just sold his song catalog.
On Thursday (5.26), Hipgnosis Song Management announced the deal that involves 100% of Timberlake’s copyrights on musical compositions he wrote, including hits such as “SexyBack,” “Rock Your Body,” “Suit and Tie,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”
As an original member of NSYNC and then as a solo act Timberlake is one of the best-selling artists in pop music history. The catalog deal covers Justin’s publishing rights, but not recording rights, and pertains only to songs he wrote or co-wrote. Though the artist wasn’t a songwriter on most of NSYNC’s biggest hits such as “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me,” he wrote or co-wrote most of his hits as a solo artist.
In a statement about the deal, J.T. said “I am excited to be partnering with [Hipgnosis’s CEO and founder] Merck [Mercuriadis] and Hipgnosis – he values artists and their creative work and has always been a strong supporter of songwriters and storytelling.” ” I look forward to entering this next chapter.”
One of many artists who’ve sold their song catalogs over the past few years, Timberlake joins the ranks of fellow pop hitmakers like Ryan Tedder and Bruno Mars who’ve also traded their publishing rights for large sums. A trend that’s been more prevalent among older acts who left their musical legacies in the hands of music companies in return for massive sums of cash, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen both sold their publishing and recorded rights for hundreds of millions of dollars in the past year, while Pink Floyd is reportedly shopping their catalog.
Founded by former music manager Mercuriadis, Hypgnosis, has been a major player in escalating the current catalog boom, giving artists, songwriters and producers previously unheard-of offers for the rights to their music. This company has previously completed deals with Neil Young, Lindsay Buckingham and Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Timberlake acquisition is part of a $1 billion fund partnership between Hipgnosis and investment giant Blackstone Inc.
In a statement about the Justin T deal, Mercuriadis said “Justin’s incredible catalogue will join other amazing works at Hipgnosis which we know will serve as a great steward of his work.” “We look forward to a great partnership between Justin and Hipgnosis.”
At press time representatives for Hypgnosis declined to disclose the financial details of the Timberlake deal.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Gage Skidmore