The pop superstar has sold his entire music catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management, a music-investment company backed by private-equity firm Blackstone Inc. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal is valued upwards of $100 million and includes around 200 songs he wrote or co-wrote throughout his 20-plus-year career as a solo artist and frontman for *NSYNC.
Timberlake’s albums have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. Among the hits included in the deal are *NSYNC’s “Pop” and “Girlfriend,” “Cry Me a River,” “SexyBack,” and “Mirrors” from his solo career, and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from 2016’s animated film Trolls.
Timberlake joins a select group of top-tier assets held by Hipgnosis. “These are not only some of the most culturally important songs and extraordinarily successful songs of the last 25 years, but they’re going to continue to be so for decades and decades to come,” said Hipgnosis CEO Merck Mercuriadis. “I want Justin to be proud to be standing next to Nile Rodgers, and I want Nile Rodgers to be proud to be standing next to Neil Young, and I want Neil Young to be proud to be standing next to Chrissie Hynde, and I want Chris Hynde to be proud to be standing next to Timbaland.”
Timberlake’s catalog is Hipgnosis’ largest music-rights acquisition so far. The sale reportedly took over a year to close and doesn’t include any future recordings.
“I am excited to be partnering with Merck and Hipgnosis — he values artists and their creative work and has always been a strong supporter of songwriters and storytelling,” Timberlake said in a statement. “I look forward to entering this next chapter.”
At 43, Timberlake is among the youngest artists to sell his life’s work. Musical icons like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Stevie Nicks have sold off their songwriting catalogs for lucrative sums, while John Legend, The Chainsmokers, and Shakira have also taken immediate payouts.
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