Hipgnosis bags rock catalogue with Nirvana and Paul McCartney hits
Music royalties fund Hipgnosis has bought the full rights to producer and mixer Andy Wallace’s catalogue today, which hosts rock icons from Paul McCartney to Nirvana.
The London-listed firm has recently gone on a song spree, buying both Dua Lipa and Justin Bieber’s back catalogue just last week.
“Andy has shaped the sound of great records for almost 40 years now and from seminal albums such as Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ to Jeff Buckley’s iconic ‘Grace’ and through landmark albums for Coldplay, Foo Fighters et al, he has had an award-winning career that has defined what rock music sounds like,” founder of Hipgnosis, Merck Mercuriadis, said.
The Grammy Award winner’s catalogue, which spans over 17,000 songs, includes works from Aerosmith, Biffy Clyro, Blink-182, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, Kasabian, Linkin Park, Prince, Rage Against the Machine, Run D.M.C., Rush, Slayer, Stereophonics, and System Of A Down.
Wallace’s revenue in 2020 topped $874,000, up from $784,000 in 2019, with 60 per cent of funds generated in the US, according to Hipgnosis’ statement released this morning.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the company has spent freely since raising more than £1.1bn through its initial public offering (IPO) in July 2018.
Hipgnosis has also snapped up the rights of Colombian pop star Shakira and rock acts Neil Young and Lindsey Buckingham.
Shares were up slightly by 0.66 per cent this morning, taking its share price to 122.0p per share.