Hipgnosis Song Management Acquires Kenny Chesney's Catalog

Chesney (Photo: Danny Clinch)

LONDON-based HIPGNOSIS SONG MANAGEMENT has acquired KENNY CHESNEY's music catalog, making the Country superstar the latest top-name artist to join the growing catalog sales trend.

HIPGNOSIS picks up 80% of CHESNEY's recorded music royalties, including his 1994 debut album, "My Wildest Dreams," all the way through his 2017 "Live In No Shoes Nation." The acquired catalog includes 22 albums, of which 15 are certified Platinum, five of those certified Multi-Platinum, and 20 are Gold. The deal encompasses works CHESNEY recorded for his previous labels, CAPRICORN RECORDS and BNA/SONY MUSIC NASHVILLE. He signed with WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE in early 2018.

CHESNEY's catalog is the first acquisition made by HIPGNOSIS since its recent partnership in OCTOBER with BLACKSTONE to buy music rights and manage catalogs (NET NEWS 10/12/2021). Included in the new deal are rights to his future greatest hits, live and/or acoustic albums.

“KENNY CHESNEY is one of the truly great American artists," said HIPGNOSIS founder MERK MERCURIADIS. "He has been bringing joy to music fans all over the world for almost 30 years. His incredible success of more than 30 million records sold, including nine #1 albums on the all-genre BILLBOARD 200 chart and 17 #1 albums on BILLBOARD’s Country chart, tells you everything you need to know. Add in his unparalleled success as a touring artist and the juggernaut that is [SIRIUSXM's] 'No Shoes Radio,' and you realize KENNY is genuinely a phenomenon. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to welcome KENNY and [manager] CLINT [HIGHAM] to the HIPGNOSIS SONGS family and we are delighted to launch our new BLACKSTONE-backed fund with this landmark acquisition.”

“To know that this music has a home that views the work as a collective body, something that builds on itself and captures the heart of 'No Shoes Nation,' was important to me," said CHESNEY. "How these songs live going forward is critical, and I believe MERCK has the best interests of not just the recordings but the people who love them as his driving interest. For the people who love these songs and albums, this is a scenario that allows the music to grow and reflect who those of us living inside these songs truly are.”

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