Selling music copyrights is a practice that involves transferring an author's property rights to a third party. This allows artists to receive a significant amount upfront, providing them with financial flexibility, while ensuring the buyer continues to earn money through the commercial exploitation of the work.

Notable examples of buy-sell transactions include Michael Jackson's acquisition of the Beatles' copyrights in 1985 and Hipgnosis Songs Capital's purchase of Justin Bieber's catalog in 2023.

Funds like Hipgnosis, founded by Merck Mercuriadis and listed on the London Stock Exchange, have played a key role in M&A activity, attracting investors to a growing segment where assets are valued in the thousands of dollars.

Learn more about music copyrights as financial assets.