Hipgnosis buys stake in Bernard Edwards catalogue- Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited (SONG) has announced today that they have purchased a stake in the music catalogue of Bernard Edwards. They have not released how much their 37.5% stake was purchased for. Bernard Edwards is widely known for his partnership with Nile Rodgers, together they founded CHIC in 1976, and co-writing hit songs for bands and artists including CHIC, Sister Sledge and Diana Ross. Nile Rodgers is a member of The Family (Music) Limited’s Advisory Board and he continues to promote and sing the songs in the portfolio.
There are 290 “evergreen songs” in the catalogue including: Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah), Everybody Dance, Le Freak, I Want Your Love, Good Times, My Forbidden Lover, He’s The Greatest Dance, We Are Family, Lost in Music, Thinking of You, Frankie, Upside Down and I’m Coming Out. A lot of these songs have been used extensively, remixed or reissued leading to new hits that are also apart of the catalogue including Rapper’s Delight and songs from: The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Puff Daddy, and Justin Timberlake.
Merck Mercuriadis, Founder of The Family (Music) Limited and Hipgnosis Fund Limited had this to say about the recent acquisition: “Bernard and Nile together created one of the most iconic catalogues of all time from Le Freak, which is the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records, to Good Times which is arguably the most interpolated and sampled song of all time. From Everybody Dance to I’m Coming Out and Upside Down to We Are Family their songs are classics and, to anyone who knows hits, the brand of Rodgers and Edwards is as meaningful as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leiber and Stoller, Jagger and Richards or Lennon and McCartney. Importantly their songs have earned as much from the many songs derived from them, such as the Number 1 songs Rapper’s Delight, Gettin’ Jiggy With It and Lady, as they have from the original works. It’s a privilege for Nile and I to now be the custodians to this important piece of their legacy.”
Nile Rodgers had the following to say: “There will never be another Bernard Edwards. I have the time of my life playing these amazing songs we created together everyday, but I will never be able to replace him and the special chemistry we had. Happily, that magic lives on in these wonderful songs that we get so much joy from everyday.”
SONG- Hipgnosis buys stake in Bernard Edwards catalogue