Merck Mercuriadis resigns as CEO of Hipgnosis Song

Merck Mercuriadis announced on Tuesday that he would step down from his position as chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management, the company he founded.

His departure from HSM, an artist management firm, coincides with the completion of a deal to acquire London-based Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd by Lyra Bidco Ltd., a company owned by funds managed by Blackstone.

The song rights powerhouse was founded in 2018 by Mercuriadis, a former music manager for Elton John, Beyoncé and Guns N’ Roses, among others. “Six years after founding HSM, I have decided that now is the right time for me to step down from my role as chairman. This is a good opportunity for me to make a strategic shift in focus and spend more time advocating for the interests of songwriters to ensure they are fairly compensated for their work,” Mercuriadis said in a statement.

The former music executive and his company achieved growth through the acquisition of songs and release catalogs of major music artists such as Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Michael Bublé, Metallica and Neil Young.

In February 2024, Mercuriadis resigned as CEO of HSM but retained the position of Chairman, while COO Ben Katovsky was promoted to CEO and took over the management of the company.

Qasim Abbas, senior managing director at Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, added in a further statement: “On behalf of Blackstone, I would like to thank Merck for his support and contribution to HSM. Merck’s commitment to and dedication to songwriters is unmatched and we respect the platform he founded and will seek to build upon it.”