, 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.
‘It Ends With Us’ Crew Members Say Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s Creative Differences Were Not a Secret on SetThe suit comes weeks after Hipgnosis first sued Manilow over the bonus clause earlier this month. A rep for Hipgnosis toldat 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, 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.
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