Neil Young sold a 50% stake in his composition catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the company founded by former artist manager Merck Mercuriadis, according to The Associated Press. The sale includes copyright and interest income on approximately 1,180 songs written or co-written by Young over his decade-long career. The exact financial conditions were not disclosed.
Young is the latest artist to enter into an agreement with Hipgnosis, which has recently acquired the publishing rights of Lindsey Buckingham and the production royalties of Jimmy Iovine. Mercuriadis and its company have made a number of acquisitions in the last year; Bob Dylan’s much-publicized sale of his composition catalog to UMPG allegedly took place after he turned down a $ 400 million offer from Hipgnosis.