“It’s a great pleasure to welcome L.A. Reid and his incredible set of songs to the Hipgnosis family.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I can’t imagine a better home for my lifetime of music and songs than Hipgnosis,” notes Reid. “Merck and his dream team truly value artists and their creative vision, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with them for this exciting new chapter.”
A giant of the U.S. record industry, Reid’s songwriting and production successes include Boyz II Men’s two-time Grammy winning smash “End of the Road,” plus hits with Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown and many more.
Reid’s songwriting and producing credits include The Whispers’ “Rock Steady,” Sheena Easton’s “The Lover In Me,” Karyn White’s “Secret Rendezvous,” After7’s “Can’t Stop,” Pebbles’ “Giving You The Benefit,” Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds’ “No Crime,” Toni Braxton’s “You Meant The World To Me” and TLC’s “Baby, Baby Baby.”
The former Epic Records chairman/CEO and LaFace Records co-founder is now at the helm of Hitco Entertainment, the label behind Saint JHN’s global hit “Roses.”
Hipgnosis Songs Fund has racked up an impressive string of acquisitions since its founding in 2018, having spent more than $650 million on catalog acquisitions as of December 2019. Recent deals include the acquisition of independent publisher Big Deal Music earlier this week, as well as (outright or a stake in) the catalogs of Mötley Crüe‘s Nikki Sixx, Wu-Tang Clan‘s RZA, Blondie, Barry Manilow, Dion “No I.D.” Wilson and Chrissie Hynde.
