UK IP Update: “What Do You Mean” Justin Bieber has sold the rights to his music?

Justin Bieber, one of the best-selling musical artists of this century, has recently sold the rights to the 291 songs that he has released (or featured in) before the end of 2021 – for a figure reported to be around $200 million.

At just 28 years old, it is interesting to see that Bieber has sold the rights to his songs so early in his career, given that it has generally been older artists (such as Bob Dylan and Tina Turner) that have done so closer to the end of their careers.

Being a 26-year-old musician and intellectual property lawyer, I couldn’t help but consider the implications of Bieber’s move and  how I might be able to do the same thing should any of my songs ever reach billions of streams!

Although the buyer of Bieber’s rights (Hipgnosis) has not disclosed the terms of the deal, we can assume that the copyright (and potentially performers’ rights) in his songs has been assigned.

What does assigning copyright mean?

Copyright is a property right where ownership can be passed from one party to another by assigning the right. This can be done through an assignation in Scotland. For example, if I own the copyright to my songs as the original creator of them, then I have various rights arising from that.

As well as ownership of the copyright to the songs, it is likely that the buyer will have been assigned Biebers’ rights of action for past infringements of his work, as well as the right to receive any royalties for any future uses of the songs (e.g. through streams or use in films etc.). This is important to include as, without it, the buyer could potentially have no right to sue any other party that uses Bieber’s music without permission. This may be well worth the investment for the buyer considering that Bieber had more than 12 billion streams on Spotify and YouTube combined in 2022 alone. It is clear I have quite the challenge on my hands to catch up with him!

How long will the copyright last?

The duration of copyright varies depending on the jurisdiction and when the work is created. In the UK, for any works created on or after 1 January 1996 (as well as works that fall into other specific categories), the copyright to the works will end 70 years after the death of the creator.

This is a benefit for the buyer as, if Justin Bieber lives until he is 98, Hipgnosis will own the rights to his pre-2022 music for 140 years. If we consider the success of Justin Bieber’s songs, and the potential nostalgia that they will bring in the future, Hipgnosis will be hoping that they benefit financially from the copyright for many generations to come. They will also be hoping Bieber is taking very good care of himself!

If you want to find out more, or require legal advice on copyright or any other form of intellectual property, please do feel free to get in touch with us and we will be delighted to help you.  At least if I ever want to sell my songs in the future, I know the perfect team who can make it happen!

By Burness Paull LLP, Scotland, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm.  

For further information or for any assistance please contact ukscotland@transatlanticlaw.com

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