Hipgnosis Songs Capital snags a portion of David Foster’s songwriting IP: 100% of his writer’s share of performance income for all 500+ of his songs.
Celebrated songwriter and producer David Foster has sold a portion of his songwriting IP — specifically, his entire writer’s share of performance income for all of his songs — to Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a partnership of Hipgnosis Song Management and funding from Blackstone.
“David is recognized globally as one of the greatest songwriters and producers of all time. He is the songwriters’ songwriter and the producers’ producer,” says Hipgnosis CEO Merck Mercuriadis. “David is truly special, and we are delighted to be working with his almost 50 years of incredible songs and to welcome him to the Hipgnosis family.”
Throughout his impressive career, Foster has earned 47 Grammy nominations with 16 wins, as well as three Academy Award nominations for best original song (“I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston for The Bodyguard, “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera for The Karate Kid Part II, and “The Prayer” by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli for Quest for Camelot).
He has earned three Golden Globe nominations (for the aforementioned “Glory of Love” and “The Prayer,” as well as “The Secret of My Success” by Night Ranger) and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
David Foster has also written songs like “Got to Be Real” by Cheryl Lynn, “After the Love Has Gone” by Earth Wind & Fire, “It’s the Falling in Love” by Michael Jackson, “Through the Fire” by Chaka Khan, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago, “St Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” by John Parr, “Best of Me” by Cliff Richard. He has written countless more tracks from artists like Madonna, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Bryan Adams, Destiny’s Child, and Michael Bublé.
“I’m very happy to be joining the Hipgnosis family,” adds Foster. “I’ve long admired what Merck and his team have built, and I trust they will be terrific partners.”
In 2011, peermusic purchased a majority stake in Foster’s song catalog, a deal encompassing all of the songwriter’s publishing vehicles: Foster Frees Music, Air Bear Music, and One Four Three Music. That deal also included his catalog of more than 500 songs. The team at peermusic has administered Foster’s publishing for more than 25 years, and the two entities have long been partners.