Hipgnosis grabs 50% of Neil Young's songwriting catalogue and raises $200m

By Emmanuel Legrand

It was another busy week for Hipgnosis Songs Fund with the acquisition of 50% of Neil Young's worldwide copyright and income interests in his entire song catalogue comprising 1,180 songs, and of shares of the catalogue from songwriter, guitarist and producer Lindsey Buckingham, of Fleetwood Mac fame, comprising 161 songs.

  Hipgnosis first acquired a 25% share of Buckingham's catalogue in September 2020, and now owns 100% of Buckingham’s music publishing rights, including his Publishing and Writer’s Share and a 50% share of any unreleased compositions. In both cases, terms of the deals were not disclosed, but MBW estimates that the sale of Young's catalogue was "in the region of $150m."

  Merck Mercuriadis, Founder of The Family and CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund said the Young deal "changes Hipgnosis forever." He added: "I built Hipgnosis to be a company Neil would want to be a part of. We have a common integrity, ethos 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 make sure everyone gets to hear them on Neil’s terms."

Strategy to support growth

  In addition, Hipgnosis has raised another $200 million from a syndicated group of lenders, with JPMorgan Chase Bank as Lead Arranger, through a Revolving Credit Facility that has been raised from $400m to $600m. Hipgnosis said it "may request" from investors an additional $150m to continue to finance its expansion.

  “As [Hipgnosis] grows, and given the now significant size of the Revolving Credit Facility, the Company and its Investment Adviser are continuously exploring and evaluating the most appropriate long term gearing strategy to support growth in shareholder value,” said Mercuriadis.