How long has it been since musicians were so lavishly rewarded? When Bob Dylan announced that he had transferred his publishing rights to Universal for $300 million, the news came as a shock. More shockingly yet, he had allegedly turned down an even higher offer of $400 million from British company Hipgnosis. [1] For Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis, one thing is certain: „When a song becomes a proven song, the earnings pattern to it becomes very predictable and reliable, and is therefore investable. And these songs are as valuable as gold, or oil.“ [2] It‘s a statement that feels hopeful and unsettling all at once: Will creative decisions in music ultimately be made only on the basis of factors such as investability and return on investment?
Financial alchemy?
For the time being, however, many observers are still wondering what alchemy Mercuriadis will employ to to turn the catalogs he has acquired into gold. Because in the world of streaming – which looks set to become the world of the future
