The Hipgnosis Songs Fund and its investment adviser, The Family (Music) Ltd., have acquired the music catalog of Grammy-winning producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. In the deal for the 982 song catalog, Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of Jerkins' writer's share of income in his early works and 100% of his publishing interest and writer's share of income in his later works.

Jerkins rose to prominence in 1997 after co-writing and producing five songs for Mary J. Blige's 3x U.S. platinum album Share My World. He's co-written hits including Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love," Destiny Child's "Say My Name," and Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and collaborated with artists such as Brandy, the Spice Girls, Sam Smith, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Toni Braxton and Justin Bieber.

“If you are talking songs of cultural importance you only need to say ‘Darkchild' and everyone in the world knows you are talking about the very best of the very best," Hipgnosis Songs Founder Merck Mercuriadis said. "Rodney has created magic every step of the way in his magical career and we owe him a debt of gratitude for making the airwaves such a wonderful place over the last 25 years."

Jerkins will also be joining the Investment Adviser’s Advisory Board with immediate effect and adds, "My relationship with Hipgnosis represents a relationship of mutual trust: Hipgnosis has placed its trust in me as an advisor, and I have entrusted Hipgnosis to manage a catalog that I have nurtured for 25+ years. I have no doubt that Merck and Hipgnosis are the right home for my catalog because they have demonstrated that they appreciate the art and craft that underlie the copyright and have constantly supported music creators."