Rapture for punk legends Blondie as music investment firm Hipgnosis snaps up 197 songs
dailymail.co.uk
By DAILY MAIL CITY & FINANCE REPORTER – 5th August 2020
Music investment fund Hipgnosis has snapped up song rights to punk band Blondie’s back catalogue.
The firm said Blondie co-founders Debbie Harry and Chris Stein had sold the rights to the royalties of 197 songs – such as Call Me, Heart of Glass and Rapture – for an undisclosed amount.
The band was formed in 1974 by Harry and Stein and became pioneers of American punk in the 1970s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said: ‘I have followed every move Debbie and Chris have made.
‘Their singles have been not only massively successful but era and genre-defining.’
Harry and Stein said: ‘We are looking forward to the future with Hipgnosis’ forward-thinking team.’
Hipgnosis was founded by Mercuriadis and invests in song rights, as well as other intellectual property associated with music.
It listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 and has raised more than £625million from the markets since then.
