Merck Mercuriadis, founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Songs, was the man of the hour — make that the day — Thursday at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, returning to his native country for three separate sessions. While one saw him presenting the Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award (named, of course, after the legendary Chic cofounder and his partner in Hipgnosis) to singer, songwriter and record producer James Fauntleroy and, virtually, to hip hop record producer Dion “No ID” Wilson and...
Hipgnosis Songs
Merck
Mercuriadis
Founder / CEO
If you’re one of those skeptics who have been betting against Hipgnosis’ business model since it launched in 2018 with an investment in The-Dream’s catalog, you might want to rethink that wager. Assets from Justin Timberlake, Nile Rodgers, Leonard Cohen, Nelly Furtado and Kenny Chesney were among the company’s 2022 scores in a year when the net value of its catalog grew by 15% excluding new acquisitions and by 25% if you throw in its latest purchases. Know who’s not betting against Mercuriadis? Investors. In August, when the company sought to secure the first five catalogs in the Hipgnosis Songs Capital fund it launched last year with Blackstone, investors oversubscribed the required funding by 2.3%.
Prior to Hipgnosis, Mercuriadis managed some of the biggest names in music, from Elton John to Guns N’ Roses.