Canadian singer and songwriter, Justin Bieber, is reportedly close to signing a deal to sell his music rights to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital for around $200 million, sources confirm to Variety.
The news, which has been rumored for weeks, has been confirmed by sources close to the deal, that the sale is imminent.
Variety reports that the deal is not yet complete, but would include Bieber’s shares of his publishing as well has his recorded-music catalog.
While the deal will relinquish his music rights, the song will still be administered and owned by Universal.
The news arrives during a troubled time for the singer, just weeks after he postponed the remaining dates in his “Justice” tour until an unspecified time “next year.”
The tour, which was originally scheduled to launch in 2020, has been postponed or delayed several times, initially due to the pandemic but most recently following his bout with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare virus that in his case caused facial paralysis.
It finally launched in March and covered most of North America, but he postponed the remaining dates early in June after announcing his difficulties with the disease.
It also comes amid a general cooling-off of the formerly red-hot catalog market, which has become less attractive as asking prices have soared and interest rates and capital gains taxes have risen.
Bieber’s catalog, while containing shares of his multiple hits over the past 15-odd years, is also less of a proven quantity than more seasoned catalogs, such as Genesis and Phil Collins, whose catalogs were sold for a reported $300 million earlier this year.
According to WSJ, if Bieber’s deal goes through, it would be one of the largest music rights acquisitions for Hipgnosis Songs Capital.
Just earlier this year, the company acquired Justin Timberlake’s song-catalog rights for just over $100 million USD. Bieber and Hipgnosis Songs Capital’s reps have not yet released a statement.
Conversely, Hipgnosis also acquired the catalog of legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, which includes many classics that are more than 50 years old.
The market effectively peaked in 2020 and last year when Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen sold their catalogs for middle-nine-figure sums.