There is no denying the success that Kenny Chesney has accumulated over the past 28 years.
I mean seriously, the dude has racked up more than a dozen platinum albums, over 30 #1 singles, and still packing out stadiums to this day with his rabid fanbase, No Shoes Nation.
With that being said, it appears that he’s just earned himself a big, fat check as he has now sold the rights to his music to Hipgnosis Song Management, who acquired 80% of his catalog according to Variety.
The deal includes 22 albums, from his debut album In My Wildest Dreams in 1994, all the way up to his 2017 live album, Live In No Shoes Nation.
This is the first deal the management group has sealed since joining forces with Blackstone to acquire music rights and manage catalogs.
Hipgnosis founder-CEO Merck Mercuriadis had a lot to say about the acquisition:
“Kenny Chesney is one of the truly great American artists. He has been bringing joy to music fans all over the world for almost 30 years. His incredible success of more than 30 million records sold including nine No. 1 albums on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and 17 No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Country chart tells you everything you need to know.
Add in his unparalleled success as a touring artist and the juggernaut that is 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.”
Chesney also weighed in:
“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.
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.”
There is no official word on how much money was disclosed to make the deal, but needless to say, ol’ Kenny probably took home a nice bag, to say the least.
According to Rolling Stone, Blake Shelton quietly sold the rights to his catalog in 2021 and that netted him a cool $50 million. Enough to put him ahead of Taylor Swift as the 9th highest earning musician of 2021.
Blake Shelton hasn’t been around quite as long as Kenny has so it could very well be upwards of $50 million.
Kenny fixin’ to buy himself a whole damn island after this.
