#TheWeeklyRoundUp - 23.12.22

Justin Bieber Nearing $200 Million Catalog Sale Agreement With Hipgnosis — Report (digital music news)

Hipgnosis is reportedly closing in on an approximately $200 million deal for the publishing and recorded catalogs of Justin Bieber.

Rumblings of this latest song-rights play from Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Song Management and Hipgnosis Songs Capital (not to be confused with the publicly traded Hipgnosis Songs Fund) just recently came to light in a report from the Wall Street Journal.

But at the time of this writing, execs at Blackstone and Merck Mercuriadis-led Hipgnosis didn’t appear to have commented publicly on the matter, and Justin Bieber didn’t seem to have broached the subject on social media. According to the mentioned report, however, the deal would cover the “Stay” artist’s recorded and publishing interests alike, presumably spanning the entirety of his more than decade-long career.

In addition to delivering a roughly $200 million paycheck to the 28-year-old singer, the rumored transaction would mark the largest investment to date for Hipgnosis Songs Capital/Hipgnosis Song Management, per anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter.

Earlier in 2022, Hipgnosis Song Management finalized a reportedly $100 million deal for the catalog of Justin Timberlake, besides acquiring stakes in the work of Kenny Chesney and Leonard Cohen. (Royalties from these and other rights were ultimately bundled into a $222 million bond offering.) The aforementioned Hipgnosis Songs Fund (LON: SONG), for its part, has maxed out its debt and, as a result, abstained from scooping up catalogs in 2022.

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Zakes Bantwini wins Musician of the Year at GQ Awards

Hot on the heels of receiving his first Grammy Award nomination, musician, producer, and businessman Zakes Bantwini received the Musician of the Year Award at the recent GQ Men of the Year awards.

The fourth annual awards occurred on Saturday, 10 December, at The Leonardo in Sandton. Zakes Bantwini's wife, Nandi Madida, accepted the award on his behalf.

"This award means a lot to me, especially because it affirms the contribution, I've made in the music industry; thank you, GQ," the Osama hitmaker wrote on social media. "I want to thank everyone who's been supportive of my career, my team at IMG, @mayonieagency, the esteemed associates, my family, friends, fans, and umvelinqangi."

"Lastly, I want to thank my beautiful wife @nandi_madida for all the sacrifices she's made for our family and allowing me to take all the risks, and supporting me all the way! I am truly blessed to have her in my life, going out of your way yesterday to sacrifice and collect that award for me. I don't know how you do this mom, wife, businesswoman, musician, actor, MC, speaker, and all-around human being thing while looking this exquisite."