Merck Mercuriadis Launching New Company

Hipgnosis Songs Fund founder Merck Mercuriadis is set to launch a new investment firm “targeting artist management companies and music catalogs through a partnership structure that gives acts and their representatives ownership stakes,” as per Music Business Worldwide (MBW). The new company will, in a familiar touch, be called Hipgnosis.

Investment secured:

• MBW quotes a piece in the Financial Times, in which Mercuriadis claims to have secured “hundreds of millions” of dollars investment.

• The FT quotes Mercuriadis as saying: “I’m going to amass five or six really important management companies, all of which have superstar artists and superstar managers that go with them.”

• He continues: “It’s all about them having control and all about them making the majority of the money [rather than the labels].”

• In addition, Mercuriadis intends to buy music catalogs.

Backstory:

• Mercuriadis stepped down as chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management last year following Blackstone’s acquisition of the publicly traded Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) for $1.584 billion.

• When HSF’s 40,000 songs were combined with the privately held Hipgnosis Songs Capital and the investment adviser Hipgnosis Song Management, the Blackstone-owned company was rebranded Recognition Music Group.

• This left Mercuriadis free to revive the Hipgnosis name for his new venture.