Justin Bieber's catalog sale

Photo Credit: Justin Bieber by Jakub Janecki / CC by 4.0

Justin Bieber’s camp denies allegations that he sold his catalog for $200 million because he was “on the verge of financial collapse.”

Justin Bieber sold his catalog for $200 million to Hipgnosis back in December 2022—a strange move for such a young artist. According to a new documentary from TMZ, the 31-year-old R&B star made between $500 million and $1 billion during his ascension to fame, but poor financial decisions left him in dire straits just a few years later.

TMZ claims people close to the matter confirmed Bieber’s financial destitution back in 2022, which led to him selling the rights to his music that December. Scooter Braun, longtime manager to Bieber, allegedly tried to dissuade him from selling so early in his career—to at least wait until January 2023 to get a tax break. But Justin couldn’t be talked out of the decision.

Further, an independent audit conducted by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and completed in April found that Bieber still owes Braun nearly $9 million. Sources say the money stems from a loan Braun made to Bieber to cover debt accrued over his cancelled 2022 tour.

Rumors swirled last October that Bieber was considering suing his financial managers for allegedly blowing $300 million of his fortune. But insiders revealed the blame lied more with Justin and his “out of control” spending habits.

“He spends eye-watering amounts per month,” a source told Page Six. “At one point, he couldn’t even get a credit card. […] Justin is surrounded by a lot of people that do not have his best interests at heart.”

Nonetheless, TMZ said that Bieber’s business manager, Lou Taylor, said Bieber was originally thought to be in debt by around $20 million after his cancelled tour—but that figure was found to be inaccurate. He claimed Braun had actually been overpaid in commissions by $26 million. Braun performed his own audit through Hybe, of which he is the CEO of the American branch, and claimed Bieber owed him $1 million, but that he “waived that amount.”

Bieber reportedly felt Braun’s audit was inaccurate, which led to PWC being brought in. Their audit resulted in the star actually owing over $8 million. Reps for Bieber deny the financial issues and call such reports “ill-informed clickbait.”