Justin Bieber Nears $200 Mln Deal to Sell His Music Rights

Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber is nearing a deal to sell his music rights to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital for around $200 million.

The news has been rumored for weeks and was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal.

Sources noted that the deal is not yet done and includes Bieber’s shares of his publishing and recorded music catalog.

The insiders added that the catalog will continue to be administered and owned (respectively) by Universal even if the deal closes.

Bieber’s catalog contains shares of his multiple hits over the past 15-odd years such as “Sorry”, “Love Yourself”, and even older tracks like “Baby”.

The catalog is said to be relatively small, however, it is still massive global hits that for many defines an era.

According to the Journal, the Bieber deal would be the largest music-rights acquisition for Hipgnosis to date. 

The news arrives during a troubled time for the singer, just weeks after he postponed the remaining dates in his “Justice” tour to next year.

The tour was originally scheduled to launch in 2020 but has been postponed or delayed several times due to the pandemic.

He most recently postponed the tour following his diagnosis of Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare virus that in his case caused facial paralysis.

It finally kicked off in March and covered most of North America, but he postponed the remaining dates early in June after announcing his difficulties with the disease.