By Mesfin Fekadu, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, a U.K.-based investment company, has acquired 100% of Grammy-winning superstar Shakira's music publishing rights.
Hipgnosis made the announcement Wednesday. Shakira's catalog includes 145 songs, including "Hips Don't Lie," "Whenever, Wherever," "La Tortura," "She Wolf" and "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)."
Shakira, who released her debut album in 1991 at age 13, rose to international fame with her third album, 1995's "Pies Descalzos." The multitalented singer-songwriter-instrumentalist took the American pop scene by storm when she made her U.S. language debut, "Laundry Service," in 2001. She's won three Grammy Awards, 12 Latin Grammys, four MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and 39 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Overall, Shakira has sold 80 million albums.
"Being a songwriter is an accomplishment that I consider equal to and perhaps even greater than being a singer and an artist. At 8 years old — long before I sang — I wrote to make sense of the world. Each song is a reflection of the person I was at the time that I wrote it, but once a song is out in the world, it belongs not only to me but to those who appreciate it as well," Shakira said in a statement. "I'm humbled that songwriting has given me the privilege of communicating with others, of being a part of something bigger than myself."
The announcement of Hipgnosis acquiring Shakira's catalog comes a week after the company purchased a 50% stake in Neil Young's music. Last month, Bob Dylan said he sold his publishing rights of more than 600 songs to Universal Music Publishing Group.
Latest Crop of VES Fellows Unveiled
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced the Society’s newest VES Fellows, who will be celebrated with the other honorees at a special VES Honors event later this month. This year’s venerated VES Fellows who will be bestowed with the post-nominal letters “VES” are: Matt Aitken, Girish Balakrishnan, Randall Balsmeyer, Michael Conte, Lisa Cooke, Bryan Grill, Thomas Knop, Arnon Manor and Susan Rowe.
VES 2024 Fellows
VES Fellow Matt Aitken, VES. Aitken has been an integral part of Weta FX since it first opened its doors. With two Oscar nominations and five VES Award wins, including the top award of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature for Avengers: Infinity War, Aitken’s versatility and creative talent are foundational to the studio’s success. As head of visual effects, Aitken leads Weta FX’s artists across three countries, and is responsible for filmmaker and studio relationships. Prior to assuming this executive role, Aitken was one of Weta FX’s most experienced visual effects supervisors on projects including Avengers: Endgame, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Marvel’s Eternals. Aitken has been an active VES member for 20 years. He was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand VES Section in 2011, the 5th VES Section to be created, and was New Zealand Section chair for its first five years of operation.
VES Fellow Girish Balakrishnan, VES. Balakrishnan has more than a decade of experience driving business studio strategies, business development and production innovation across live action, animation and games. As director of creative innovation at Netflix, Balakrishnan leads the content & production studio investment strategy on the application of... Read More