Neil Young sold 50% of copyright and income interests worldwide in his catalog of 1,180 songs to Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, the UK investment company founded by investor manager Merck Mercuriadis. The change comes days after Hipgnosis, which spent the last year snapping up music catalogs left and right, announced that it had acquired 100% of Lindsey Buckingham’s publishing rights, as well as Jimmy Iovine’s production royalties.
“I bought my first Neil Young album at 7,” said Mercuriadis in a statement. “Harvest he was my companion and I know every note, every word, every pause and silence intimately. Neil Young, or at least his music, has been my friend and constant ever since. Over the past 50 years, that friendship has taken me back to Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Everyone knows this is no place, After the gold rush, and guided me forward to On the beach, Tonight is the night, Zuma, Come a moment, Rust never sleeps, Trans, These notes for you, Freedom, Ragged Glory, Greendale and through each successive album and last year Colorado. “
Young never licensed any of his songs for use in an advertisement. In the video of his 1988 return, hit “This Note’s For You”, he made fun of artists like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Eric Clapton who engaged in the practice. “I’m not singing for Pepsi,” he sang. “I’m not singing for Coke / I’m not singing for anyone / It makes me look like a joke.”
The exact terms of the Hipgnosis deal have not been defined, but Mercuriadis says that iconic songs like “Heart of Gold” will not be used to sell fast food. “I built Hipgnosis to be a company that Neil would like to be a part of,” he said. “We have common integrity, ethics and passion born out of a belief in music and these important songs. There will never be a ‘Burger Of Gold’, but we will work together to ensure that everyone can hear them on Neil’s terms. “
In his statement, Mercuriadis said Young’s manager, Elliot Roberts, who died in 2019, was a close friend and mentor. Since Roberts’ death, Young has been managed by Frank Gironda.
“Elliot was the model of who I wanted to be,” said Mercuriadis. “He and Neil were partners in crime and Elliot made sure that art was never compromised and trade was always maximized. He praised Neil’s integrity perfectly and together they protected the songs with such force that they became important to millions of people around the world. That was a personal conduct you could aspire to, something you could believe in … With Elliot’s death last year, it was only natural that Frank, who had worked so skillfully alongside him, would put himself in his place and also as it now seems logical for Hipgnosis to partner with Neil to ensure that his incredible songs reach all corners of the world. “
Young is the latest in a long list of veteran artists who recently sold at least part of their publishing rights to music investment firms – a new kind of company in the music industry that is offering massive payments to artists in exchange for control of their lucrative royalty streams. Last month, Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog to Universal for about $ 300 million. At about the same time, Steve Nicks sold most of his publications to Primary Wave Music Publishing along with his name and image.