Mercurial Merck Mercuriadisis to reboot Hipgnosis brand
News snapshot
- Merck Mercuriadis relaunches Hipgnosis with new ownership model
- Will roll up five to six major management firms
- Backed by investors with “hundreds of millions” committed
Mercurial music entrepreneur Merck Mercuriadisis launching a new venture to bring back the Hipgnosis Songs Fund brand - rebooting (at least in name) a business name that he previously built and sold for $1.57 billion.
Mercuriadisis, founder of the original Hipgnosis alongside music icon Nile Rodgers, says he has the backing of “hundreds of millions” for his rebooted startup, which aims to roll up music management firms and publishing rights.
Unlike the last iteration, which was sold to Blackstone last, the new version will be structured to give artists and managers majority ownership stakes.
In interviews with the Financial Times, Mercuriadis said the new venture is designed to shift value and control from record labels to creators.
This time around, the plan involves acquiring five or six leading music management companies that represent superstar artists, and it may potentially also look to repurchase catalogues previously sold to Blackstone’s Recognition Music Group.
Mercuriadis stepped down as Hipgnosis Song Management chairman last year amid shareholder tensions and a challenging market period for music rights.
Having previously seen a peak valuation of close to $3bn, with the likes of Shakira, Mark Ronson, Justin Timberlake, and Leonard Cohen on the books, the fund business was sold off to private equity.
