Why now? Perhaps the time is right - with rockers aging and U.S. Born in Schefferville, Que., he grew up in Nova Scotia and reminisced with the New York Times about taking regular record-buying trips to Halifax. Now based in London, the former record-company executive is creating a new music publishing gold rush. The man amassing the massive song collection is Hipgnosis CEO and founder Merck Mercuriadis. Hipgnosis has also bought 100 per cent of the publishing rights to Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham's songs and owns a wide range of titles from Blondie's Debbie Harry, Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, Dave Stuart of the Eurythmics and more. Bob Dylan sold his song catalogue to Universal Music for $300 million.
While the news caught some fans by surprise, Young is the latest in a growing list of music legends cashing in their song rights for millions. With the sale of 50 per cent of his 1,180-song catalogue to the Hipgnosis Song Fund this week for an estimated $150 million US, the grizzled rocker is in the black and then some.
In Neil Young's 1979 song Hey Hey, My My the Canadian musician sang that rock could never die, adding: 'Out of the blue and into the black, you pay for this, but they give you that.'
