Data From Spotify Says Yes
By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
(Photo of Justin Bieber by Budiey)
Justin Bieber has agreed to sell his entire music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for more than $200 million.
Hipgnosis announced the deal via press release, saying it has acquired “Justin Bieber’s 100% interest in his Publishing Copyrights (including the Writer’s Share of Performance), Master Recordings and Neighboring Rights for Bieber’s entire back catalog, comprising over 290 titles released before December 31, 2021.”
The deal is somewhat complicated by the fact that Universal Music Group continues to own the master recordings of Bieber’s back catalog. That may mean that Hipgnosis will receive Bieber’s artist royalty stream on those masters via Universal. Also, it appears that UMPG will continue to administer the publishing of Bieber’s music.
The Wall Street Journal first reported in December that the Hipgnosis/Bieber deal would be worth around USD $200 million, and it appears their sources were solid.
According to Hipgnosis CEO Merck Mercuriadis the deal with Bieber “ranks among the biggest deals ever made for an artist under the age of 70.”
More typically, companies like Hipgnosis have bought up the rights for music catalogs from musicians with extremely long track records, like Fleetwood Mac or Bruce Springsteen, raising the question whether Bieber’s catalog is worth such an eye-watering sum.
But Mercuriadis points to stats from Spotify, where Bieber’s songs have been streamed over 32 billion times. “At only 28 years of age, he is one of a handful of defining artists of the streaming era that has revitalized the entire music industry, taking a loyal and worldwide audience with him on a journey from teen phenomenon to culturally important artist.”
That’s confirmed by data from Spotify, which shows what listeners are streaming on a monthly basis. In the most recent analysis, Justin Bieber placed sixth in the world for the most streamed music, after megastars like The Weeknd, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.
Putting that in perspective, Bieber’s music earned more than 70 million streams over the month, putting him in the exclusive company of only 33 artists who broke the 50 million monthly streams barrier.
By contrast, The Beatles logged fewer than 30 million streams, and Bruce Springsteen came in at a little over 15 million.
As well, Bieber has estimated sales of over 150 million records worldwide to date. All of Bieber’s six official studio albums have been certified Platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA and 33 platinum or multi-platinum singles globally.
Further, Bieber has three singles∞Baby, Sorry, and Despacito—which have all won Diamond status for their US sales, meaning they exceeded 10 million copies each. His more recent Love Yourself is well on its way to hitting Diamond status. earned Diamond certifications for US sales exceeding 10 million, and a fourth in Love Yourself that is set to soon achieve the same status.
“The impact of Justin Bieber on global culture over the last 14 years has truly been remarkable,” said Mercuriadis. “At only 28 years of age, he is one of a handful of defining artists of the streaming era that has revitalized the entire music industry, taking a loyal and worldwide audience with him on a journey from teen phenomenon to culturally important artist.
“This acquisition ranks among the biggest deals ever made for an artist under the age of 70, such is the power of this incredible catalog that has almost 82 million monthly listeners and over 30 billion streams on Spotify alone.”