Manilow and his management company Stiletto Entertainment sued Hipgnosis four years after a $7.5 million deal to sell the rights to his master royalties
Barry Manilow and his management company Stiletto Entertainment filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Hipgnosis Songs Fund on Friday, alleging that the company has refused to pay out multiple bonus payments tied to the original acquisition of his music rights from back in 2020.
Per the suit, filed in federal court in California this week and obtained by Rolling Stone, Hipgnosis originally paid $7.5 million for the artist royalty rights to the masters from Manilow’s catalog, including hits such as “Looks Like We Made It,” “Mandy,” “I Write The Songs,” and many more. As part of that initial deal, Manilow and Stiletto alleged, Hipgnosis agreed to pay two more $750,000 in bonuses based on if the catalog met certain revenue growth figures each year.
The royalty revenue met that threshold each year, but Hipgnosis hasn’t paid, the plaintiffs claimed.
“It is unclear if Defendant is just willfully violating the MCAA or if alternately it lacks the resources to make good on its contractual commitments,” the suit said.
A rep for Hipgnosis didn’t immediately reply to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The suit comes weeks after Hipgnosis first sued Manilow over the bonus clause earlier this month. A rep for Hipgnosis told Billboard at the time that the suit was a “routine commercial matter concerning the interpretation of certain clauses in a contract regarding bonus payments, which the court is ideally placed to address.”
Hipgnosis helped drive the music acquisition boom that dominated headlines in recent years as the company, formerly led by music manager Merck Mercuriadis, spent billions acquiring catalogs from the likes of Justin Bieber, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira, and many others. Over the past year, shareholders have revolted over several issues and the Hipnosis Songs Fund sold to investment giant Blackstone. Mercuriadis exited the company in July.
