Justin Bieber just sold his share of his publishing rights for a whopping $200 million. The Canadian singer made the deal with Hipgnosis Songs Capital, who now own Bieber’s entire music catalog.
Now, fans are wondering what this means for the future of the pop star’s career.
Why Did Justin Bieber Sell His Music Catalog?
It’s believed that Justin Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun, made the sale seemingly for financial benefit.
“[He] sold his publishing rights and he’s going to benefit and make ton[s] of money out of this,” one fan shared on Twitter.
However, Braun also told Billboard that the deal was done in order to “preserve and grow this amazing legacy.”
Apparently, the move is also history-making.
“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,” Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said in a statement.
Did Justin Bieber Sell His Masters?
Not exactly.
Justin Bieber sold his share of publishing rights to his music catalog, which was only a small percentage. According to Billboard, Hipgnosis purchased Bieber’s publishing and artist royalties, but not the actual master recordings, which still belong to UMG.
“His label still has majority ownership of his catalog. Justin doesn’t even own his masters yet. My man just sold his little percentage and got more money for it,” one fan tweeted about the sale.
What Will Happen to Justin Bieber’s Music Now?
Hipgnosis will now earn the royalties from the portion of Justin Bieber’s music that they own.
“For over a decade now Justin Bieber has entertained us and moved us with some of the biggest songs in the world. Justin is truly a once in a generation artist and that is reflected and acknowledged by the magnitude of this deal,” Braun told Billboard.
“Justin’s greatness is just beginning,” he added.
And it seems like Bieber isn’t leaving music anytime soon, despite the cancellation of his 2022 tour.
Recently, fans posted online about spotting Bieber at a studio in New York City.
“No [because] for Justin to be in the studio even outside of LA… things are like seriously happening,” another fan tweeted.
Plus, in May 2022, Bieber’s long-time DJ, Tay James, told Uproxx that “he’s really a musician. He likes tapping in with musicians. He’s really into writing right now. I love this space that he’s in.”
“He loves chords, he loves gospel music. You know Justin, his first love is R&B, he really loves R&B. Anything that has melodic chords will always attract him. He has a great ear. Justin has always been an artist to experiment with new sounds. We always like to do new stuff,” James continued of Bieber’s musical taste, adding fans should “expect to hear some great things.”