Justin Bieber Closing In On $200 Million Deal To Sell His Music Rights: Report

Justin Bieber is nearing a $200 million deal to sell the rights to his entire music catalog to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital, according to multiple outlets.

The deal will include the 28-year-old "Peaches" singer's interest in both his publishing and recorded music catalog, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing multiple unnamed sources with knowledge on the matter.

Unnamed industry insiders who spoke with Variety also confirmed the transaction and said that Bieber's publishing and recorded music catalog will continue to be administered and owned, respectively, by Universal Music Group even if the deal goes through.

Bieber's music catalog includes six albums released between 2010 and 2021, as well as a slew of singles and collaborations with other artists over the years, including Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee for "Despacito," DJ Khaled for "I'm The One," Ludacris for "Baby," and Kid Laroi for "Stay."

The Bieber deal would be Hipgnosis' largest music-rights acquisition to date, according to WSJ.

Such financial deals are reportedly more difficult to close, despite their emergence in the music catalog market and the low-interest-rate environment of the pandemic, because of the increase in the cost of borrowing money, WSJ noted.

While Bieber has been in the music industry for about 13 years, the singer and his songs are considered young in the music copyright market, compared to veteran music artists who have cashed in on their life's work such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks.

Other younger artists such as John Legend and OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder have opted to capitalize on their music on the market.

In May, Hipgnosis also acquired the rights to Justin Timberlake's music catalog, which was valued at $100 million. The deal came after Blackstone committed to an initial $1 billion to launch a private vehicle partnership with Hipgnosis.

News of Bieber's deal came weeks after the singer decided to push the remaining dates in his "Justice World Tour" to "next year."

The tour was originally scheduled to start two years ago, but due to the pandemic and Bieber's bout with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a virus that causes facial paralysis, it had to be suspended.

The tour finally launched in March, but he postponed the remaining dates early in June, citing his difficulties with the disease.