Musician and producer Bob Rock has sold the rights to parts of his production catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Notable among the 43 songs included in the sale are his rights to the entirety of Metallica’s self-titled album, referred to as the “Black Album.”
“The breadth of Bob Rock‘s enormous successes are almost impossible to match by any creator in the history of music,” said Hipgnosis Songs founder Merck Mercuriadis in a statement about the deal. “From Metallica‘s most famous Black Album to Michael Bublé‘s ‘Christmas,‘ he has produced some of the biggest albums of all time that continue to be evergreen, year in and year out.”
He continues, “Everyone who has worked with Bob knows he is a difference maker, which is why the artists he has produced end up making multiple albums with him which are almost always their biggest successes.”
“Bob is very special and as a fellow Canadian, it is a pleasure to welcome him and his incredible productions to the Hipgnosis family.”
Said Rock about the deal, “I put my heart and soul into these recordings. I know how much Merck loves music, so it was an easy deal to put together.”
Released in 1991, Metallica remains the band’s most successful album. To date, the album has sold more than 16 million copies in the United States and has gone multi-platinum in other countries as well.
Rock has worked with countless hard rock and metal acts such as The Cult (Sonic Temple) and Motley Crue (Dr. Feelgood), but his work with Metallica has gone above and beyond. He has produced a handful of the band’s albums, including Metallica, 1996’s Load, 1997’s Reload and 2003’s St. Anger. He has also played with the band on occasion, taking over bass duties while they were on tour in the early 2000s.
Also included in the deal are selections from Michael Buble’s Call Me Irresponsible, Crazy Love, Christmas and To Be Loved. While it is unknown how much Rock received for the songs, it is estimated that this could have been a multi-million dollar deal.
