Barry Manilow Says Company Owes Him $1.5 Million for Music Rights Purchase

Barry Manilow and his management company, Stiletto Entertainment, have launched a $1.5 million lawsuit against Hipgnosis Songs Fund, claiming the company is refusing to pay out bonus payments tied to the original acquisition of his music rights back in 2020.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California this week and obtained by Rolling Stone, alleges that Hipgnosis paid $7.5 million for the artist royalty rights to Manilow’s catalog. The acquisition included hits such as “Looks Like We Made It,” “Mandy,” and “I Write The Songs” among others. As part of the deal, Manilow and Stiletto argue that Hipgnosis agreed to pay two additional $750,000 bonuses if the catalog met certain revenue growth figures each year.

According to the plaintiffs, the royalty revenue met those thresholds annually, but Hipgnosis has not made the bonus payments.

“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 stated.

A representative for Hipgnosis did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.

This lawsuit surfaces just weeks after Hipgnosis initially sued Manilow over the bonus clause earlier this month. A Hipgnosis representative told Billboard 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 has been a significant player in the music acquisition boom that has been prominent in headlines over recent years. The company, formerly led by music manager Merck Mercuriadis, has spent billions acquiring catalogs from artists such as Justin Bieber, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Shakira, among many others. Over the past year, shareholders have raised multiple issues, and the Hipgnosis Songs Fund has since sold to investment giant Blackstone. Mercuriadis left the company in July.

Source: Rolling Stone, Billboard