#Neil Young Sells 50% Stake of Songwriting Catalog to Hipgnosis

Neil Young has sold a 50% stake of his songwriting catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the company founded by former artist manager Merck Mercuriadis, as The Associated Press reports. The sale includes copyright and income interests of approximately 1,180 songs written or co-written by Young throughout his decades-long career. Exact financial terms were not disclosed.

Young is the latest artist to strike a deal with Hipgnosis, which also recently acquired the publishing rights of Lindsey Buckingham and the production royalties of Jimmy Iovine. Mercuriadis and his firm have been on a tear of acquisitions over the past year; Bob Dylan’s much-publicized sale of his songwriting catalog to UMPG reportedly came about after he rejected a $400 million offer from Hipgnosis.