Hipgnosis Song Management acquires Justin Timberlake’s incomparable song catalogue

26 May 2022 - Press release

 

Hipgnosis Song Management (“Hipgnosis” or the “Company”), which offers investors a pure-play exposure to songs and associated intellectual property rights, is pleased to announce the company’s acquisition of the song catalogue of Justin Timberlake, the iconic American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor who is one of the most influential artists of the last 20 years and named by Billboard as the best performing male solo artist in Top 40/Contemporary Hit Radio history.

Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of all of Justin Timberlake’s copyright, ownership and financial interests of the Writer and Publisher’s Share of Public Performance income, and the catalogue of musical compositions written by Justin Timberlake. Also included in the sale to Hipgnosis are the worldwide administration rights to the compositions, subject to the remaining Term of Universal Music’s administration rights which expire in 2025.

Justin Timberlake is among the most successful artists of this or any era, boasting worldwide sales currently in excess of over 150 million – 88 million as a solo artist and 70 million with NSYNC – while earning a seemingly infinite series of top awards and international honors. Named by Billboard as the best performing male solo artist in Top 40/CHR history, the Memphis, Tennessee-born singer-songwriter-performer has won 10 GRAMMY® Awards (out of 39 total nominations), 11 MTV Video Music Awards (including the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), 20 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, 10 Teen Choice Awards (out of 56 nominations),  nine ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, seven American Music Awards, five MTV Europe Music Awards, three Brit Awards, three GQ Men of the Year Awards, two Pollstar Awards, the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Icon Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Award nominations, an Academy Award nomination for “Best Original Song,” and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, to name only a few. 

The acquisition has been made on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a partnership between Hipgnosis Song Management and funds managed by Blackstone. 

Justin Timberlake is represented by managers Rick Yorn, Josh Dembling at LBI Entertainment and Johnny Wright at Wright Entertainment Group and lawyers David Lande and Mitch Tenzer at Ziffren Brittenham LLP.

 

Merck Mercuriadis, Founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Song Management, said: 
“Justin Timberlake is not only one of the most influential artists of the last 20 years but he’s also one of the greatest songwriters of all time. His hit songs including Cry Me A River, Rock Your Body, SexyBack, My Love, What Goes Around . . . Comes Around, Suit & Tie, Mirrors and Can’t Stop The Feeling are amongst the most iconic of the period. Putting this deal together has been a complete labour of love for Justin, Rick, David and myself and I’m delighted to welcome them all to the Hipgnosis Family. This is the beginning of what we believe will be an incredible relationship important to us all.”

Justin Timberlake said:
“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.  I look forward to entering this next chapter.”

Rick Yorn,  LBI Entertainment said:
“Merck has a true love for music.  His passion is infectious and inspiring. We are so excited to enter this new chapter with Merck and his team.”

David Lande and Mitch Tenzer, Ziffren Brittenham LLP said:
"Justin's incredible catalogue will join other amazing works at Hipgnosis which we know will serve as a great steward of his work.  We look forward to a great partnership between Justin and Hipgnosis.

Timberlake first came to international fame in 1995 as a member of NSYNC. With total worldwide sales now over 70 million, the group proved among the most popular acts of all time, earning Diamond certification for 1997’s self-titled debut (currently boasting US sales of over 11 million) and 2000’s chart-topping, 11x platinum No Strings Attached (14.5 million), while 2001’s Celebrity earned 5x platinum with sales now approaching 6 million. The latter album – which like its predecessor reached #1 in the US and charts around the globe – saw Timberlake coming into his own as a versatile songwriter on such award-winning hits as Pop, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated Gone, and the worldwide #1, Girlfriend. Over their career, NSYNC receive a host of international awards and honors, including eight GRAMMY® Award nominations, three American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and seven MTV Video Music Awards, with 2000’s No Strings Attached receiving a Guinness World Record as the “fastest selling pop album in US history.”

Now with 26.5 million monthly Spotify listeners, over 6.4 billion video views and total YouTube subscribers fast approaching 10 million, Timberlake has released five solo albums between 2002 and 2018 – including 2002’s Justified (3x RIAA platinum) 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds (4x platinum), 2013’s The 20/20 Experience (2x platinum) and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (1x platinum), and 2018’s Man of the Woods (1x platinum) – along with 40 solo singles and featured singles alongside such artists as Nelly, Snoop Dogg, The Lonely Island, Timbaland, 50 Cent, Madonna, T.I., Ciara, Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, The Black Eyed Peas, and more. His collective body of work includes four #1 albums in the US and four #1 solo singles on Billboard’s “Hot 100,” including SexyBack, My Love, What Goes Around...Comes Around, and Can’t Stop The Feeling!.

Timberlake began what proved a momentous solo career with 2002’s Justified, earning him a GRAMMY® Award for “Best Pop Vocal Album” along with three additional nominations (including “Album of the Year”). Currently certified 3x platinum with total worldwide sales of 10 million, the album includes such hit singles as Like I Love You, Rock Your Body, and Cry Me A River, the latter of which won the 2004 GRAMMY® for “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.”

FutureSex/LoveSounds followed in 2006, highlighted by three Billboard “Hot 100” #1 singles, the 3x platinum SexyBack, the 2x platinum My Love, and the platinum What Goes Around...Comes Around, as well as the platinum certified Top 40 chart-topper, Summer Love. Certified 4x platinum in the US with worldwide sales in excess of 10 million, the album debuted atop on the Billboard 200 – Timberlake’s first #1 LP – and eventually garnered four GRAMMY® Award nominations (including “Album of the Year”), with SexyBack winning “Best Dance Recording” and My Love taking home the prize for “Best Rap/Sung Performance.” The following year saw What Goes Around...Comes Around win the “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance” GRAMMY® while LoveStoned/I Think She Knows (Interlude) earned him another “Best Dance Recording” trophy.

2013 saw Timberlake make history with his third studio album, The 20/20 Experience, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 968,000 copies – the biggest sales week of the year, becoming Timberlake's second #1 album on the chart and best-selling debut week of his solo career. Certified 2x platinum by the RIAA, the album ultimately proved the best-selling release of 2013 in the US, landing at #1 on the annual Billboard Year-End chart – the first time a solo male artist had crowned the tally since 2005. Now with worldwide sales of over 6 million, The 20/20 Experience includes such GRAMMY® Award-winning hits as the 2x platinum Suit & Tie (“Best Music Video”) and Pusher Love Girl (“Best R&B Song”), along with the GRAMMY® Award-nominated, 2x platinum #1 single, Mirrors.

The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, which marked the second half of the 20/20 Experience project, followed in September 2013 and like its predecessor, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the platinum certified single, Not A Bad Thing, which reached #1 on the Mainstream Top 40, as well as the Country Radio hit, Drink You Away. The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience – which paired both LPs - was later nominated for a GRAMMY® in the “Best Pop Vocal Album” category. 

In 2016, Timberlake executive produced the 2x platinum Trolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which included that year’s best-selling single in the US, Can’t Stop The Feeling! Currently boasting over 1.3 billion worldwide streams and YouTube views over 1.5 billion, the 4x platinum certified single debuted atop the “Hot 100” and reached #1 in 18 countries around the world. Ranked by Billboard as the ninth most popular song of 2016 and one of only eight singles in “Hot 100” history to spend its first 40 weeks or more in the top 40, Can’t Stop The Feeling! earned Timberlake his tenth GRAMMY® Award (for “Best Song Written for Visual Media”) and “Best Original Song” nominations for the 89^th annual Academy Awards (where Timberlake performed the song as the opening number) and the Golden Globe Awards.

2018’s Man of the Woods debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 – Timberlake’s fourth consecutive chart-topping album in the US and fifth straight platinum LP. The album includes such top 10 hits as the platinum certified Filthy and the 3x platinum, GRAMMY® Award-nominated, Say Something. Man of the Woods concluded 2018 as the sixth best-selling album of the year, with Timberlake named Amazon Prime's most streamed artist of the year.

Among his countless other blockbusters, Timberlake is featured on Timbaland’s worldwide #1 single, 2007’s Give It To Me (Feat. Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake), Madonna’s top 3, 2x platinum Hard Candy (Feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland), T.I’s 2009 2x platinum, GRAMMY® Award-nominated, Rhythmic #1 Dead and Gone (Feat. Justin Timberlake), and Jay-Z’s 2013 4x platinum, GRAMMY® Award-winning, #1 Rap smash, Holy Grail (Feat. Justin Timberlake). Timberlake’s hugely successful catalogue also includes 2017’s The Book of Love (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), two best-selling compilations, appearances on multiple soundtracks and albums by other artists, and production credits spanning records by Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Macy Gray, and many more. His career also includes four video albums (including the 5x platinum FutureSex/LoveShow: Live From Madison Square Garden) and thirty-seven music videos, as well as a wide array of motion picture and TV appearances. A hugely popular live performer, Timberlake has traveled the globe on a series of blockbuster concert tours, with 2013’s The 20/20 Experience World Tour proving his most successful to date and one of the highest grossing tours of the decade. 

A gifted actor, Timberlake received acclaimed reviews for his performance in the Academy Award-nominated The Social Network and such diverse films as Inside Llewyn Davis, Southland Tales, and 2021’s Palmer. Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME in 2007 and 2013, Timberlake is a four-time Emmy Award winner for his appearances on Saturday Night Live, as well as the author of 2018’s best-selling memoir, Hindsight & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me.