Neil Young has sold a 50% stake in his songwriting catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the company founded by former artist manager Merck Mercuriadis, according to The Associated Press. The sale includes copyright and revenue stakes of approximately 1,180 songs written or co-written by Young through his decades-long career. Exact financial terms have not been disclosed.
Young is the youngest artist to enter into an agreement with Hipgnosis, which also recently acquired the publishing rights of Lindsey Buckingham and the production royalties of Jimmy Iovine. Mercuriadis and his firm have had a tear of acquisitions over the past year; Bob Dylan reportedly made a notorious sale of his songwriting catalog to UMPG after rejecting a $ 400 million offer from Hipgnosis.