A DEAL FOR JUSTIN'S RIGHTS? BELIEB IT

Word has it that a deal for Justin Bieber’s publishing interest and recording revenue is about to close, according to sources close to the artist.

We speculated earlier this year that this would be a massive deal, possibly north of $200m. There’s no confirmation yet as to who’s cutting the big check to Bieber and team, but we’re told the pact is due to close imminently. Bieber has amassed 13m in U.S. activity to date, earning more than 17 billion streams and selling 50m tracks (note that he's much bigger globally).

Meanwhile, there’s buzz that Katy Perry is shopping for a deal of a similar shape, though on a smaller scale—it’s expected her publishing/recording share is valued in the $80m-100m range. Lawyers are believed to be burning the midnight oil to get these deals done before year’s end.