It’s been a chaotic year for Hipgnosis and its Canadian founder Merck Mercuriadis. The company that has proven the investment value of song catalogues as assets has been part of a bidding war between Concord and Blackstone to take over Hipgnosis Songs Fund, for which Hipgnosis Song Management is the investment advisor. During an embattled time for the company, Mercuriadis stepped down as CEO but is now Chairman. But the bidding war has shown how valuable Hipgnosis’s boasted $3 billion worth of assets are, which includes $400 million in 2023|2024 acquisitions of song catalogues by Justin Bieber, Shakira, Dua Lipa-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and more – more than 50 No. 1 songs. Hipgnosis controls 22% of songs in Spotify’s Billions Club, including big songs by Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Nile Rodgers, and immortal hits like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Though his future might be unclear, Mercuriadis remains at the center of the music business conversation.