Justin Bieber is reportedly close to selling his music rights to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for an estimated $200 million.
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The deal will include shares of Bieber’s publishing and recorded-music catalog, from his first single “One Time” in 2009 and his debut album, My World 2.0 with hits including “Baby,” “Sorry,” and “Love Yourself,” through his most recent album, Justice, released in 2021.
Though an unspecified portion of shares of his music rights will be managed by Hipgnosis, Bieber’s catalog will continue to be administered and owned by Universal once the deal closes.
If the deal goes through with Hipgnosis, Bieber will join a collection of artists who sold their rights to the company, including Justin Timberlake, the estate of the late Leonard Cohen, and the late Fleetwood Mac co-founder Christine McVie, among other artists.
The news comes four months after Bieber was forced to postpone the remaining dates of his Justice tour to 2023. The tour was originally scheduled to run in 2020 but was first postponed after Bieber contracted COVID. After performing several dates in early 2022, Bieber once again postponed the tour, revealing that he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare virus that causes paralysis of the face.
“Earlier this year, I went public about my battle with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, where my face was partly paralyzed,” said Bieber in a statement. “As a result of this illness, I was not able to complete the North America leg of the Justice Tour. After resting and consulting with my doctors, family and team, I went to Europe in an effort to continue with the tour. I performed six live shows, but it took a real toll on me.”
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