Shakira becomes latest artist to sell rights to catalogue of hits
The Colombian singer Shakira has become the latest big name artist to cash in on her catalogue of hits, selling the publishing rights to the London-based music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis. The most successful female Latin singer of all-time, with more than 80m album sales to her name, Shakira has sold the rights to her 145-song catalogue for an undisclosed sum. The three-time Grammy award winner’s string of hits, which began with the release of her first album in 1991 at the age of 13, include Hips Don’t Lie, Whenever, Wherever and the 2010 Fifa World Cup song Waka Waka. “Being a songwriter is an accomplishment that I consider equal to and perhaps even greater than being a singer and an artist,” said Shakira. “At eight years old, long before I sang, I wrote to make sense of the world. I know Hipgnosis will be a great home for my catalogue.” The streaming boom has encouraged investors to put their cash into companies like Hipgnosis, a London stock market-listed outfi...