Justin Bieber has cashed in on all his songs (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)
Justin Bieber has sold his back catalogue of songs for a staggering figure in a move to future-proof himself and gain more ‘independence’.
Hipgnosis Songs is the music fund that have bought the rights to all Justin Bieber’s 290 songs, while the artist rights to his master recordings were also acquired.
The move from the Baby singer comes as other stars including Bob Dylan, Mick Fleetwood, Neil Young, Sting, and Blondie singer Debbie Harry, also sold their interests in recent years.
Giving up publishing rights means whenever someone plays a song Hipgnosis part-owns in public, the fund gets paid.
It essentially means Justin, 28, is cashing in on his potential future earnings from old songs now.
Hipgnosis boss Merck Mercuriadis, former manager of Sir Elton John and Pet Shop Boys, told BBC Radio 4’s Today that he cannot discuss the price Hipgnosis paid for the rights because of a non-disclosure agreement, though a figure of around $200million (£162million) has been reported.
Justin hasn’t released any new music since 2021, and had to cancel his recent world tour for health reasons (Picture: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for OBB Media)
The singer married model Hailey Bieber in 2018 (Picture: Gotham/GC Images)
Mercuriadis said: ‘[But obviously, as you point out, he is being paid a lump sum in advance rather than collecting it over the next 12 or 13 years.
‘And that is going to give him an opportunity to put his money to work for himself.
‘And he is de-risking his future and giving himself an independence and a cushion that most people in the world would envy.’
While in the pre-Spotify world it was tricky to see a bright future for the music industry, all that has changed according to Mercuriadis, as he explained why artists are selling up.
Justin was first spotted in a YouTube video as a 12-year-old cover singer before rocketing to fame (Picture: Rick Rowell/Disney Channel via Getty Images)
‘If you go back a short six or seven years it would be very difficult to look anyone in the eye and say the best days of the music industry are in front of you,’ he said.
‘But streaming has changed all of that and it has created a complete new economy for the music industry – and the music industry’s best years are in front of it.
‘And Justin Bieber just happens to be arguably the definitive soundtrack of that streaming revolution which, as you say, (is) 80-odd million monthly Spotify listeners, 13 songs that have had a billion streams.
‘The accolades and the consumption on his catalogue are incredible.’
Mercuriadis’ catalogue of songs has grown to be pretty extensive since he launched the fund on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 alongside Nile Rodgers of Chic.
Romanticising the move, Mercuriadis added: ‘The beautiful thing about music is when these songs become hits they become part of the fabric of our lives.
‘They become part of the fabric of society and they live on forever.’
Justin was part-way through his world tour in October last year when he announced the remainder would be cancelled, as the singer was battling with his health after he suffered facial paralysis in early 2022.
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The megastar has not released any music since 2021, and for now seems to be relaxing with his wife Hailey and their Yorkies, Piggy Lou and Oscar.
The Love Yourself hitmaker was recently spotted consoling his model wife after her uncle Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after he accidentally shot the cinematographer dead on set 15 months earlier.
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MORE : Justin Bieber cuddles wife Hailey after her uncle Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge
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