Justin Bieber doesn't own the rights to his music, sold for $200 million: Here's why it's the latest trend

 

Justin Bieber is not alone. Legendary artists such as Bob Dylan, Tina Turner and Bruce Springsteen have already sold their music catalogs for millions of dollars. Here's decoding the latest trends in the music industry.

Justin Bieber has agreed to a $200 million deal that will transfer ownership of his music to Hipgnosis Song Management, a Blackstone-backed investment company. The Canadian pop star sold her share of the master recordings to Hipgnosis, publishing copyright and neighboring rights to her complete back catalogue. The deal covers over 290 titles released through the end of 2021.

According to media reports, Universal Music Group will still own the original recorded music library. While Hipgnosis has not officially confirmed the actual number, CEO Mark Mercuridis has stated that it is one of the "biggest deals ever done for an artist under the age of 70".

"Justin Bieber's impact on global culture over the last 14 years has been truly remarkable," said Merkouridis, calling Bieber "the defining artist in the streaming era."

With 69 million monthly listeners and over 30 billion streams, Bieber is the eighth most listened-to musician in the world on Spotify. Her song "Baby" has over 2.9 billion views on YouTube.



Bieber isn't the only artist to sell his music rights for million dollar deals. Now, the question is why are artists selling their music rights, something they are known to treasure throughout their lives, and even after.

Universal Music bought Bob Dylan's entire songwriting catalog of more than 600 songs in a deal worth more than $300 million. Iconic singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks sold her catalog to Primary Wave Music for $100 million.



Tina Turner sold her music rights to BMG for $100 million. OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder sold his music catalog to investment firm KKR for $200 million. Sony Music Entertainment bought Bruce Springsteen's entire catalog for an estimated $550 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the hysteria as playlists from the old days proliferated and music flooded fitness apps, social media and video games.

As music becomes more valuable in the streaming age, artists are protecting their legacies by selling their back catalogs for cash. Typical annual royalties for the catalog are 30 times higher for investors and music publishers.

However, Justin Bieber's music catalog sales are unique because he is a relatively young artist, unlike other names who have decades of musical legacy and are more likely to repeat in music streaming.