Hipgnosis takes majority stake in Mark Ronson’s publishing catalogue
Music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis today said it has acquired the majority of the publishing catalogue of prolific songwriter and producer Mark Ronson.
Hipgnosis has taken control of 70 per cent of the 315-song portfolio, which includes more than 83 number one hits and two songs that have been streamed more than 1bn times on Spotify.
Ronson has released five albums as a solo artist, including chart-topping Uptown Funk featuring Bruno Mars, which won record of the year at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
Uptown Funk is also the sixth most viewed Youtube video of all time with 3.8bn views.
Ronson first made his name as a producer, and has won critical and commercial success collaborating with hit artists.
This includes Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black, which has sold 16m copies worldwide and is the UK’s second best-selling album of the 21st century.
More recently, the veteran producer co-wrote Shallow for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the film A Star is Born. The track won an Oscar for best original song as has been streamed 1.1bn times on Spotify alone.
He has also garnered success with his newly-formed duo with Diplo dubbed Silk City. Their 2018 single Electricity with Dua Lipa won a Grammy and has been certified platinum in four countries.
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said: “Mark has been amongst the most exciting creators in the world over the last 20 years co-writing and producing records for the most important artists of their time including Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa.
“I have been an admirer ever since Stop Me and it’s an honour welcoming him to the Hipgnosis Family.”
FTSE 250-listed Hipgnosis has posted a sharp rise in profit in the last six months as it beefs up its portfolio of songs and artists.
Last month the firm announced it had secured the rights to the complete catalogue of Bon Jovi lead guitarist and songwriter Richie Sambora.