Shakira
is the latest artist to jump on the “sell all your songs” bandwagon.
Music Week
reports that the Latin superstar has sold 100% of her music publishing rights to Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited. The deal includes Shakira’s catalogue of 145 songs, including her portions of “Wherever, Whenever,” “Hips Don’t Lie”, and her latest hit with
Black Eyed Peas
, “Girl Like Me.” It doesn’t include any songs she’ll write in the future.
In a statement quoted by
Music Week
, Shakira said, “Being a songwriter is an accomplishment that I consider equal to and perhaps even greater than being a singer and an artist. At 8 years old — long before I sang — I wrote to make sense of the world.”
She adds, “Each song is a reflection of the person I was at the time that I wrote it, but once a song is out in the world, it belongs not only to me but to those who appreciate it as well.”
The monetary amount Shakira pocketed for the deal wasn’t disclosed, but Hipgnosis has been on a spending spree recently when it comes to buying up catalogs. In November, it acquired a bunch of them, which included hits by fellow Latin crossover artists
Enrique Iglesias
,
Ricky Martin
,
Marc Anthony
and
Jennifer Lopez
.
In the past year or so, Hipgnosis
has spent well
over a billion dollars for shares in, or outright ownership of, catalogs that include 10 of Spotify’s top 30 most-played songs of all time. It also bought stakes in the catalogs of legendary rockers
Neil Young
and former
Fleetwood Mac
guitarist
Lindsey Buckingham
.
By Andrea Dresdale
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