Richie Sambora has sold the rights to his 186-song catalogue — including all of his Bon Jovi co-writes — to the song acquisition investment company Hipgnosis Songs Fund, according to Rolling Stone. Hipgnosis is owned by music mogul Merck Mercuriadis, who has purchased the catalogues of such artists as Taylor Swift, Timbaland, and Bruno Mars, among others. The dollar amount for Sambora's deal with Hipgnosis has not been released.
Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi co-wrote such legendary Bon Jovi classics as “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “Livin' On A Prayer,” “Wanted Dead Or Alive,” “Bad Medicine,” “I'll Be There For You,” “Born To Be My Baby,” “Lay Your Hands On Me,” “It's My Life,” “Have A Nice Day,” “Who Says You Can't Go Home,” among many more.
Sambora said in a statement announcing the deal, “These songs are very important to me and I feel very strongly that Merck is the only person I could have entrusted my babies to. I believe the work he is doing that has transformed the way that the world looks at the power of great songs and the songwriting community is very special.”
Richie Sambora told us that the seed to Bon Jovi's success can be traced straight back to learning how to write good — and then great — songs: “The foundation of it is obviously songwriting. When you finally learn how to write a song — it takes a while, because you suck for about five years — and then all of a sudden you find something, you strike a nerve that strikes a nerve with someone else. And that's what songwriting's about, it's basically communicating with other people. And if you do that well enough, your audience and your fans are your mirror.”