by under the bridge From Red Hot Chili Peppers, Heart of gold Written by Neil Young, Call me From blondie to Any time, any place From Shakira. The rights to world-famous pop songs could easily go to the highest bidder within six months.

The owner of all these songs, listed music investment fund Hipgnosis Songs, is at loggerheads with its shareholders. They want to sell all 65,000-plus songs from the box set, if necessary, within six months to make enough for their investment.

Hipgnosis was founded several years ago by former Chic bassist Nile Rodgers and Merck Mercuriadis, who previously managed artists and bands such as Elton John, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Beyoncé. The duo began buying music rights portfolios from artists at breakneck speed. For example, two years ago, Neil Young sold all his songs to the fund for $150 million. Justin Bieber was paid just over $200 million for his songs.

Listed Hipgnosis now has 146 music collections from bands and artists containing 65,413 songs, including 163 songs that once won a Grammy. Books list the value of the entire group at $2.32 billion.

However, investors in the fund have become frustrated in recent months. The expected high income, for example, from music streaming platforms like Spotify, which must pay royalties to music rights holders, is disappointing. As a result, the dividend does not grow as hoped.

Due to the large amounts paid for all the songs, Hipgnosis didn’t have much money left in their pocket. High interest rates make refinancing expensive. This month even the dividend payment was cancelled. Hipgnosis’s share price halved last year.

So the board of directors announced that it would sell 29 of the 146 music portfolios to investor Blackstone. But shareholders put an end to that day in a special meeting. Outraged by the alleged low selling price, the proposal was rejected en masse.

In contrast, nearly 85% of shareholders voted in favor of another proposal, obligating the fund to submit concrete proposals within six months to restructure, reorganize or simply close Hipgnosis.

The latter means that the fund will have to sell all investments to the highest bidder, after which the proceeds can be distributed to all shareholders. This may actually mean that all songs from the box will be featured.

In a statement, Hipgnosis board member Sylvia Coleman wrote that the message had been understood. There will be a “clear focus on creating enhanced shareholder value”. On the London Stock Exchange, the music investment fund’s share rebounded after the shareholders’ meeting, with an increase of 2.3 percent.