MERCK JOINS NO SHOES NATION

Kenny Chesney can now afford to buy shoes for his fanbase: Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Song Management has purchased a healthy chunk of the royalty stream from the country superstar’s catalog.

Hipgnosis has acquired 80% of Chesney’s recorded-music royalties for the 17 studio albums and two live albums he released between 1994 and 2017. Also included: his future greatest hits, live and/or acoustic albums and Sound Exchange and neighboring-rights royalties for all of Chesney’s albums, among them 2018’s Songs for the Saints and 2020’s Here and Now.

The deal is Hipgnosis’ first acquisition since the inauguration of its recently announced partnership with Blackstone.

“To know that this music has a home that views the work as a collective body, something that builds on itself and captures the heart of No Shoes Nation, was important to me,” Chesney said. “How these songs live going forward is critical, and I believe Merck has the best interests of not just the recordings but the people who love them as his driving interest. For the people who love these songs and albums, this is a scenario that allows the music to grow and reflect who those of us living inside these songs truly are.”

Longtime manager Clint Higham at Morris Higham Management and lawyer Jess Rosen at Greenberg Traurig represented Chesney.

“Kenny Chesney is one of the truly great American artists,” Mercuriadis said. “His incredible success of more than 30 million records sold, including nine #1 albums, tells you everything you need to know. Add his unparalleled success as a touring artist and the juggernaut that is [SiriusXM’s] No Shoes Radio and you realize Kenny is genuinely a phenomenon. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to welcome Kenny and Clint to the Hipgnosis Songs family and we are delighted to launch our new Blackstone-backed fund with this landmark acquisition.”