Hipgnosis, including the namesake songs fund, has rebranded as Recognition Music Group. Photo Credit: Recognition
So long, Hipgnosis: The Blackstone-owned company has officially rebranded as Recognition Music Group and underscored plans to scoop up additional IP.
Recognition Music reached out with word of the name change today, less than one year removed from Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s stock-market exit. As many will undoubtedly recall, that privatization only came to fruition following several much-publicized twists and turns.
Furthermore, Hipgnosis’ aggressive catalog-acquisition strategy prompted considerable behind-the-scenes criticism in industry corners. The songs fund’s investors were more public with their own Hipgnosis qualms, and on the artist side, the entity is entangled in an ugly legal battle with Barry Manilow.
(Having inked an IP deal with Manilow in 2020, Hipgnosis sued the artist across the pond in August 2024, pointing to a bonus-payments dispute. Later that same month, Manilow and his team fired back with a stateside action of their own. And Hipgnosis is urging the court to toss the U.S. complaint, arguing that the matter should be hashed out in the U.K.’s High Court. A stateside dismissal-motion hearing is set for April 18th.)
In other words, the time is ripe for a name change – especially since Hipgnosis/Recognition, which finalized a close to $1.5 billion ABS this past November, intends to keep on acquiring song rights.
Enter Recognition Music Group, which encompasses the core Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the distinct Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM) “investment advisor,” Hipgnosis Songs Assets, and their various holdings.
The rebranding doesn’t seem to have ushered in changes at the executive level. Ben Katovsky remains CEO, Dan Pounder is still CFO, and Concord vet Sara Lord is continuing as chief creative officer, with different existing higher-ups aboard at Recognition Music as well.
(Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis doesn’t appear to have formally announced his next career move after leaving the company last year.)
In a statement, Katovsky doubled down on Recognition Music’s plans to pursue further catalog purchases down the line.
“We are excited to be entering this new chapter as an integrated company,” he communicated in part, “committed to supporting artists and songwriters, enhancing the legacy and value of our songs and, over time, growing our portfolio with the addition of more stellar songs.”
Amid ample demand for song rights, it’ll be interesting to see what Recognition Music’s investments look like moving forward. To put it mildly, the music-IP landscape has changed since Hipgnosis’ buyouts heyday; fresh catalog funding, wrapped transactions, and huge rumored valuations, attributable to a variety of parties, are hardly uncommon now.
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