Normani Inks Hipgnosis Publishing Deal, Promises New Music
The pop star is one of the biggest publishing clients Hipgnosis has signed since acquiring Big Deal Music in 2020.
Artist and songwriter Normani has signed a global publishing deal with Hipgnosis Songs Group, the company announced Thursday (March 5). The deal indicates Hipgnosis, which typically categorizes itself as a “song management” company and is best known for its massive catalog of music rights, is eager to further embrace the role of music publisher and to bet on the value of partnering up-close with current hitmakers.
This is not to say Hipgnosis has previously shied from investing in contemporary talent. The group has already acquired key catalogs from hitmakers like Jack Antonoff, Andrew Watt, Joel Little, Shakira and many more and is known to be receptive to betting on “near catalogs” (catalogs less than five years old) more than most.
In 2020, the company acquired Big Deal Music, beginning the team’s movement into publishing. Included in the deal, Hipgnosis brought the firm’s 4,400 copyrights, including songs recorded by Shawn Mendes, Panic! At the Disco and One Direction, and also their publishing administration company, Words & Music. From there, the company has signed a number of publishing agreements with songwriters, but few if any as marquee as Normani.
The announcement of Normani’s publishing deal, then, feels like a logical next step for the Merck Mercuriadis-founded company. Though the deal does not include the pop singer’s back catalog — including hits like “Motivation” and “Wild Side,” featuring Cardi B — Hipgnosis will be working with Normani on all of her future works.
Hipgnosis also confirms to the singer’s fans that “new music and a larger body of work is on the way.” Since exiting the girl group Fifth Harmony and launching her solo career, Normani has become one of the most sought after musical stars of her generation but also one of the most elusive. She has kept fans waiting for her debut album since she dropped her first solo collaboration “Love Lies” with Khalid (2018) and her first single “Motivation” in 2019, but according to Hipgnosis, the wait may soon be over.
“I’m proud to have partnered with the team at Hipgnosis and take my catalogue to new and exciting places. I’m excited to embark on this new chapter with them,” says Normani of the deal.
“At 25 years of age Normani has been having gold and platinum records for almost a decade and yet she’s barely getting started,” adds Mercuriadis. “From ‘Love Lies’ to ‘Dancing With A Stranger,’ we have admired her from afar and we are now delighted to welcome both Normani and her manager Brandon Silverstein to the Hipgnosis family. Together with our very own Casey Robison they are a special combination.”
Casey Robison, Hipgnosis executive vp of A&R, calls the artist “world class.” “Outside of being wildly talented, she is the consummate professional and singular force in pop music we’ve long been missing,” she says.
Normani, who was previously repped by Sony Music Publishing, is signed to RCA Records and managed by Brandon Silverstein, CEO and founder of S10 Entertainment. Silverstein adds, “We’re thrilled to partner with forward thinking partners like Hipgnosis and look forward to working with Merck/Casey and their team to fully support Normani’s vision and invest in the long term success of her art.”
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