Hipgnosis Songs Fund Raises Another Rs. 480 Crores Via Additional Shares

Lady luck has been on Hipgnosis's side this month, during the beginning of August, we saw them acquire Benny Blanco's star-studded and hit-filled catalog which was followed by the acquisition of the globally admired Chainsmokers' catalog and now to close off the month with a big bang, HSFL placed additional ordinary shares in the market which were subscribed to mostly by existing shareholders, subsequently raising their equity by £51.1 Million (Rs. 480 Crores) with shares trading at 105.5 pence per share putting the company above the $500 Million mark. Hipgnosis is a Guernsey registered investment company established to offer investors pure-play exposure to Songs and associated musical intellectual property rights which made its debut on the London Stock Exchange back in July 2018 raising over $185 million in addition to the $262 million that the company began with, in June last year. How does it function you ask? Well, as of now, this rights-management company owns premium publishing catalogs of artists like Dave Stewart, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Poo Bear, Bernard Edwards, Johnta Austin, and Sean Garrett totaling up for a massive collection of 6,000 songs worth more than $1.3 billion. To break it all down, the company basically invests the money raised to buy rights to catalogs of important artists which they then utilize to earn royalties by licensing these rights to other organizations/people. The 3 main sources of income for HSFL must be mechanical royalties, performance royalties and of course, synchronization fees. Going into detail about investment, their website states "The Company’s Investment Adviser is The Family (Music) Limited, which was founded by Merck Mercuriadis, former manager of globally successful recording artists, such as Elton John, Guns N’ Roses, Morrissey, Iron Maiden and Beyoncé, and hit songwriters such as Diane Warren, Justin Tranter and The-Dream, and former CEO of The Sanctuary Group plc. The Investment Adviser has assembled an Advisory Board of highly successful music industry experts which include award-winning members of the artist, songwriter, publishing, legal, financial, recorded music and music management communities, all with in-depth knowledge of music publishing. Members of The Family (Music) Limited Advisory Board include Nile Rodgers, The-Dream, Bill Leibowitz, Ian Montone, and Jason Flom." The main man, Merck Mercuriadis also spoke on the latest announcement saying "We are delighted to continue giving our shareholders exposure to music royalties via new acquisitions of some of the most iconic songs of all time. I’m very grateful for the constant enthusiasm and support that the finest institutional investors in the world have given us to establish songs as an asset class. This is not only great for the investors but the songwriting and artistic community as well."