Producer Bob Rock has sold his rights to the songs on Metallica‘s 1991 self-titled album, aka The Black Album.
The deal was made by the company Hipgnosis Songs, which has made news in recent weeks thanks to the high profile acquisitions of catalogs from artists including ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, Neil Young and Shakira.
Along with the Metallica songs, Hipgnosis also purchased Rock’s rights to several albums he produced by singer Michael Bublé.
“The breadth of Bob Rock’s enormous successes are almost impossible to match by any creator in the history of music,” says Hipgnosis Songs founder Merck Mercuriadis in a statement. “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.”
“I put my heart and soul into these recordings,” adds Rock. “I know how much Merck loves music, so it was an easy deal to put together.”
Rock produced every Metallica studio album from The Black Album to 2003’s St. Anger. He’s memorably featured in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster.
By Josh Johnson
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