The CEO and founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund has said that cultural importance is key when it comes to the artists whose back catalogues they have acquired.
The investment company, who were founded by Merck Mercuriadis, has made waves in recent months after purchasing the catalogues of artists including Lindsey Buckingham and Blondie, as well as Jimmy Iovine’s worldwide producer royalties and half of Neil Young’s songs in a deal thought to be worth an estimated $150 million (£110 million).
Speaking to MusicWeek, Mercuriadis explained how he set about purchasing the back catalogues after securing a staggering $1bn in investments.
“So, with over £1bn invested, we only own 57,000 songs. But 10,000 of them are Top 10 songs, almost 3,000 of them are No.1 songs. So it’s a very small catalogue, relative to Universal, Warner or Sony. But the ratio of success within that catalogue is very high, there are very few songs that are not successes,” he explained.
Opening up on his…