The-Dream is undoubtedly one of most relevant songwriters and producers of this generation, and he has the catalog to prove it. To preserve his legacy, the entertainer recently signed a $23 million deal with Hipgnosis Songs, a music IP investment company in order to acquire a 75 percent stake in his music catalog, Billboard reports.
The acquisition includes a stake in more than 300 songs. It features 25 Billboard top 10 songs and four Grammy Award-winning tracks either written, co-written or produced by The-Dream. The most notable tracks include: Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Beyonce’s 2010 smash hit, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” ” Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body.” Kanye West’s “All Of The Lights” and Jay-Z’s “Holy Grail,” featuring Justin Timberlake are also on the list.
“I’m proud to be part of this beautiful venture,” said The-Dream in a statement. Dream also spoke of Beyonce’s former manager Merck Mercuriadis, who set up the investment company. “In making this decision I said to Merck ‘I need a Jimmy Iovine in my life,’ not just to nurture my songs, but to also help solidify the legacy I seek for myself and my songs even after I’m gone, for my children and beyond. His reply was simply, ‘I got it,'” he said.
“It’s critical for us to set the highest standards with our first acquisition,” Mercuriadis added. “The-Dream is not only arguably the culturally most important songwriter of his generation, but he has written the marquee songs for the culturally most significant artists.”
In addition to acquiring a majority stake in The-Dream’s catalog, Hipgnosis has identified seven more “pipeline” catalogs it has its eyes on acquiring, including those of Adele and Kanye West.