She said goodbye to her songs!

Shakira Has Sold Her Entire Catalog Of Music To A British Company

Colombian singer Shakira joined a recent trend in the world of music and decided to sell her entire musical catalog and rights to her songs to a British company. Although the amount of the transaction was not disclosed, it is said that the monetization of its songs will allow it to mitigate the impact of the paralysis of the music industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

First it was Stevie Nicks, then Bob Dylan, and now it is singer Shakira who cleverly made the decision to sell her entire musical catalog. As announced this week, the Colombian singer assigned the rights to her 145 songs and other musical works to the British company Hipgnosis Songs Fund.

Shakira chose to sell catalog to help her deal with funding loss

Shakira announced the sale of her musical catalog to the British company Hipgnosis Songs Fund— founded by Canadian manager Merck Mercuriadis— through a press release. According to specialists, this action will help Shakira alleviate the impact of the paralysis in funding within the music industry that has been caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The deal also enables her to maintain a good relationship with the Sony record company, which will continue managing her music for the next 7 years. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed. “Being a composer is an achievement that I consider equal and perhaps even greater than being a singer and an artist," the singer of Eyes Like Yours said in the press release. "At 8 years old, long before singing, I wrote to make sense of the world."

Shakira in her presentation at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, in 2020

Shakira opens up about importance of songwriting to her

Shakira then went on to explain why she values being a singer-songwriter. "Each song is a reflection of the person I was at the time I wrote it, but when a song goes out into the world, it not only belongs to me, but also to those who appreciate it," she said. "I am honored that songwriting has given me the privilege of communicating with others, of being part of something bigger than myself."

The Colombian also pointed to Hipgnosis as "a great home" for her catalog, and described the company's manager Mercuriadis as an "ally of composers from around the world who cares about the continuous life of songs." Although the company— which also recently acquired the rights to Neil Young and producer Jimmy Iovine's music catalog— did not disclose the amount of the transaction, it is said that it could exceed $100 million.

Shakira in her presentation at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, in 2020.

Shakira joins trend of artists selling music rights for funding

Shakira joins a growing trend in the world of music with the agreement— the sale of music catalogs and rights to songs to avoid suffering the ravages of the cancellation of activities and concerts throughout the world due to the pandemic of COVID-19.

In December, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan sold the rights to his more than 45 albums and 600 songs to Universal Music for about $400 million. Stevie Nicks, David Crosby, Journey, and Blondie also entered into similar agreements with companies in Europe and the United States.