It was reported yesterday (January 24) that Justin Bieber has closed on a deal for the publishing rights and royalties from his master recordings, making about $200 million in the sale to Hipgnosis. While the trend seems to be mostly older artists making these sorts of deals, Bieber is only 28 years old and likely still has plenty of hits to come. Now, Mark Ronson, who sold 70 percent of his music publishing catalog to Hipgnosis in 2020, has shared his perspective on the situation with a TMZ cameraperson.
Ronson seemingly first learned about the Bieber news from the interviewer, as he offered an “oh wow” when they brought it up. He then offered his thoughts on Bieber’s potential mindset with the sale, saying, “I think you’re kind of banking on the fact that like, ‘OK, hopefully I’m still going to write a few more songs,’ you know? ‘So this is what I did up to now, I can live a bit comfortably, not worry about…,’ I mean, I don’t think Justin Bieber’s worrying about living check to check. I think it just gives you, like, a breathing space, and hopefully you’re not done writing songs. That doesn’t mean, like, that that’s everything I’ve ever done.”
As for why Bieber opted to make the sale now specifically, Ronson offered only tongue-in-cheek speculation: “I don’t know… you want to add a wing to the house in Malibu. I don’t really know.”