Hipgnosis acquires 70% of music publishing catalogue of Mark Ronson

23 April 2020 - Press release

Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited (“Hipgnosis” or the “Company”)

Acquisition of Music Catalogue

The Board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited and its Investment Adviser, The Family (Music) Limited, are pleased to announce that the Company has acquired 70% of the music publishing catalogue of seven time Grammy Award winning, Academy Award winning and Golden Globe winning songwriter, artist and producer Mark Ronson. Best known for his collaborations with internationally successful artists including Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Adele, Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Kaiser Chiefs, Queens of the Stone Age and Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson has produced or co-written hit songs achieving in excess of 83 Number 1 and 209 Top 10 chart positions globally as well as two songs which have been streamed over 1 billion times on Spotify alone.

Mark Ronson has released five studio albums as a solo artist including the Number 1 and platinum certified ‘Uptown Special’, which included the global Number 1 single ‘Uptown Funk’, as well as the Top 5 albums ‘Version’ ‘Record Collection’ and ‘Late Night Feelings’. ‘Uptown Funk’ featuring Bruno Mars, released in 2014, reached Number 1 in 19 countries including the US, where it remained Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 consecutive weeks, and was awarded the Grammy Award for “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance”. ‘Uptown Funk’ has been streamed over 1.1 billion times and is the sixth most viewed YouTube video of all-time having been viewed over 3.8 billion times.

Mark Ronson has also achieved critical and commercial success as a producer, most famously on Amy Winehouse’s legendary album ‘Back to Black’. ‘Back to Black’, which was awarded “Best Pop Vocal Album” at the 2008 Grammy Awards, is the UK’s second best-selling album of the 21st century with over 16 million copies sold worldwide and has been streamed 350 million times on Spotify alone. 

More recently, Mark Ronson co-wrote ‘Shallow’, recorded by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper for the movie ‘A Star is Born’, which has sold over 10 million copies globally as well as being streamed over 1.1 billion times on Spotify alone. ‘Shallow’ reached Number 1 in every major music market and received widespread critical acclaim winning the Academy Award for “Best Original Song”, the Golden Globe Award for “Best Original Song”, the BAFTA Award for “Best Film Music”, the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for “Best Song”, as well as two Grammy Awards for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” and “Best Song Written for Visual Media”.

In 2018, Silk City, a supergroup/duo comprising Mark Ronson and DJ Diplo, released the Grammy Award winning  single ‘Electricity’, featuring Dua Lipa, which has been certified platinum in four countries including the US and UK as well as being streamed 386 million times on Spotify.

Hipgnosis has acquired 70% of Mark Ronson’s publishing and writer’s share interest in his catalogue which comprises 315 songs.

Mark Ronson is represented by manager Brandon Creed at FullStop Management and lawyer Michael Guido at Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Bar & Karalian, LLP.
 

Merck Mercuriadis, Founder of The Family (Music) Limited and Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, 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 and Brandon to the Hipgnosis Family.”
 

Mark Ronson said:

“I’ve known Merck for nearly 15 years. The very first time we interacted was when I nervously and humbly asked permission to cover “Stop Me” back in 2006, back when he managed Morrissey.  

I was just starting out and he was very kind and generous with me. He was an artist’s guy then and he’s an artist’s guy now. 

I’ve always had enormous respect for his having such a credible, seminal management roster—artists I was truly influenced by from Nile Rodgers to Jane’s Addiction. And that same respect has continued with what he’s done with Hipgnosis. 

He’s acquired the catalogues of some of my favourite creatives, and I’m excited to be joining those ranks.”