Neil Young sold a 50% stake in his compositions catalog to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a company founded by former entrepreneur Merck Mercuriadis, according to The Associated Press. The sale includes copyrights and income from approximately 1,180 songs written or co-written by Young over his decades-long career. The exact financial terms were not disclosed.
Young is the latest artist to strike a deal with Hipgnosis, which also recently acquired Lindsey Buckingham’s publishing rights and Jimmy Iovine’s production royalties. Mercuriadis and his company were in a series of acquisitions last year; Bob Dylan’s much-publicized sale of his compositions catalog to UMPG came after he rejected a $ 400 million offer from Hipgnosis.