Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac , who wrote iconic songs such as "Little Lies" and "Don't Stop," has become the latest artist to sell her back catalog of hits to Hipgnosis .
The singer-songwriter sold the copyrights to 115 songs to the London firm for an undisclosed sum, giving investors the chance to profit from royalties on a selection of classics.
Merck Mercuriadis , the founder and CEO of Hipgnosis, said: “Over the past 46 years, the band has had three distinct writers and vocalists, but Christine’s importance is amply demonstrated by the fact that eight of the 16 songs on Greatest Hits are by Christine.”
Mercuriadis, the former manager of Beyoncé and Elton John, obtained the catalog of McVie's former bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham , in January. It included 161 songs, including "Go Your Own Way".
“I’m excited to be part of the Hipgnosis family and thrilled that you all consider my music worthy of merit,” McVie said.
Hipgnosis, which has spent over $2 billion buying the rights to hits by iconic artists like Neil Young , said it now holds the rights to 48 of the 68 tracks from Fleetwood Mac's most successful albums.
The investment firm also came into the spotlight after buying the catalogs of artists like Blondie and half of Neil Young's songs, in a deal estimated at US$150 million.
Shakira also sold all 145 of her songs, including "Hips Don't Lie," "She Wolf," and "Whenever, Wherever," all as part of the deal.
Earlier this year, Mercuriadis said that cultural significance is paramount when it comes to the artists whose catalogs they have acquired.
“Therefore, with over £1 billion invested, we only own 57,000 songs. But 10,000 of them are top 10 songs, almost 3,000 of them are number 1. Furthermore, it's a very small catalog compared to Universal, Warner, and Sony. But the success rate within that catalog is very high; there are very few songs that aren't hits,” he concluded.