Hipgnosis buys Barry Manilow's songs

Hipgnosis Songs Fund has bought the rights to Barry Manilow's recording royalties for songs including Mandy and Copacabana in the company's latest move to snap up songs by major artists.

The FTSE 250 company said it had bought 100% of Manilow's worldwide recording royalties comprising 917 songs.

Manilow, whose hits also include I Write the Songs and Looks Like We Made It, has sold more than 85m records, making him one of the bestselling musicians of all time. He has had 12 US number ones and 50 top 40 singles. He has also written film soundtracks including for the animated features Thumbelina and The Pebble and the Penguin.

Hipgnosis buys the rights to songs and receives royalties from sales and other uses such as featuring in advertisements or film soundtracks. Its portfolio also includes songs by Mark Ronson, Bill Withers and Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora.

Merck Mercuriadis, Hipgnosis's founder, said: "Barry Manilow is an international treasure. He's an incomparable artist, songwriter, arranger, musician and performer. In the 1970s and 80s he redefined mainstream entertainment and drove it to new heights of success with truly classic songs."