Jimmy Iovine has sold his entire production catalog to Hipgnosis Songs.
We all know that in this world, money talks. However, it is sometimes still difficult to understand how a heavy hitter in the music industry can hand over their rights to some of the biggest projects of all time. These kinds of giant business agreements have made the headlines several times recently, such as when Lil Wayne signed over his ownership of the Young Money catalog.
Now, Jimmy Iovine, one of those most legendary producers to ever work in entertainment, has reportedly sold his entire catalog to Hipgnosis Songs. According to Variety, the deal includes 259 songs as well as Iovine’s film royalties from Eminem’s 8 Mile and 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
The magic number that convinced Jimmy to turn over his rights to so much iconic material has not yet been revealed, but there is no doubt that it was a hefty sum. Iovine addressed the deal in a public statement and provided some details about how he would be using his earnings from the exchange, saying, “I’m happy that my work as a producer with so many great artists has found the right home with Merck and Hipgnosis. I am going to use the proceeds from the deal to help Iovine Young Academy’s initiative to build a high school in South LA as part of the Iovine Young Academy at USC and continue our efforts to support education.” The Iovine Young Academy currently operates as a professional school at the University of Southern California and is a collaborative effort with rapper and mogul Dr. Dre.
Jimmy Iovine got his start as a producer to several major figures in rock music, including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, John Lennon, and U2. He later helped found Interscope records and began to work with some of the best hip hop artists of all time, including Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur. He also co-founded Beats by Dre, which led to a position with Apple Music. Needless to say, Iovine doesn’t need to worry about losing some royalties at this point in his career.
