Barry Manilow Claims Company That Bought Music Rights Owes Him $1.5 Million

Barry Manilow at his last Sugar Land concert on Aug. 28, 2024 in Texas. - Credit: Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images

Barry Manilow and his management company Stiletto Entertainment filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Hipgnosis Songs Fund on Friday, alleging that the company has refused to pay out multiple bonus payments tied to the original acquisition of his music rights from back in 2020.

Per the suit, filed in federal court in California this week and obtained by Rolling Stone, Hipgnosis originally paid $7.5 million for the artist royalty rights to the masters from Manilowā€™s catalog, including hits such as ā€œLooks Like We Made It,ā€ ā€œMandy,ā€ ā€œI Write The Songs,ā€ 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.

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The royalty revenue met that threshold each year, but Hipgnosis hasnā€™t paid, the plaintiffs claimed.

ā€œIt is unclear if Defendant is just willfully violating the MCAA or if alternately it lacks the resources to make good on its contractual commitments,ā€ the suit said.

A rep for Hipgnosis didnā€™t immediately reply to Rolling Stoneā€˜s request for comment.

The suit comes weeks after Hipgnosis first sued Manilow over the bonus clause earlier this month. A rep for Hipgnosis told Billboard at the time that the suit was a ā€œroutine commercial matter concerning the interpretation of certain clauses in a contract regarding bonus payments, which the court is ideally placed to address.ā€

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 Justin Bieber, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 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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