You’ve probably heard the name Kenny Macpherson if you’ve spent any time digging into the guts of the music publishing world. Or maybe you just know the hits. If you've ever hummed along to a One Direction song or felt the raw emotion of a St. Vincent track, you’ve brushed up against the legacy of Kenny Macpherson Big Deal Music.
But honestly, the story isn't just about gold records and Grammy nods. It’s a wild, sometimes messy saga of independent spirit, massive corporate buyouts, and a sudden, sharp fall from grace that left the industry reeling.
The Birth of a "Big Deal"
Back in 2012, the music industry was in a weird spot. Streaming was starting to devour everything, and the big publishers were getting, well, bigger. Kenny Macpherson, a Scotsman with a reputation for being blunt and having a killer ear, decided he’d had enough of the corporate grind at Chrysalis Music.
He didn't go it alone. He grabbed his long-time allies Jamie Cerreta and Dave Ayers. They basically looked at the landscape and decided there was room for a boutique powerhouse that actually cared about the people writing the songs. They founded Big Deal Music Group with a simple mission: be the "anti-corporate" choice for songwriters.
It worked.
The roster they built was nothing short of insane. We're talking about:
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- John Ryan and Julian Bunetta (the masterminds behind One Direction’s biggest hits)
- St. Vincent (Annie Clark)
- Dan Wilson (the guy who co-wrote "Someone Like You" with Adele)
- Ray LaMontagne
- Teddy Geiger
- Sharon Van Etten
For a few years, they were the coolest kids on the block. They were big enough to compete with the majors but small enough to invite their writers over for a drink. By 2018, Billboard ranked them as the seventh-largest hit publisher in the U.S. That is no small feat for a company that started with a few guys paying their own phone bills.
The 2020 Pivot: Entering the Hipgnosis Era
Then came Merck Mercuriadis and his "disruptor" fund, Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Merck was on a mission to turn songs into an asset class, like gold or oil. He needed a boots-on-the-ground publishing infrastructure in the States, and Kenny Macpherson Big Deal Music was the perfect target.
In September 2020, the news broke. Hipgnosis acquired Big Deal Music Group.
Suddenly, the "indie" darling was the engine for a multi-billion dollar investment vehicle. The company was rebranded as Hipgnosis Songs Group (HSG). Macpherson was named CEO, and his partners took on executive roles. On paper, it was a triumph. A massive payday and a seat at the head of the table.
But as we’ve seen in the years since, the "asset class" model is a lot more volatile than it looks. While Macpherson was busy integrating the catalogs, the parent company was facing intense pressure from shareholders and rising interest rates.
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The Lawsuit That Changed Everything
If the Hipgnosis acquisition was the peak, October 2023 was the beginning of a very public descent.
A former colleague from Macpherson’s Chrysalis days filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and harassment dating back to the mid-2000s. The allegations were graphic and disturbing. Macpherson’s legal team vehemently denied everything, calling the claims "unverified" and "historic," but the damage in the modern industry was immediate.
Hipgnosis didn't wait. They placed him on a leave of absence almost instantly.
For a man who had built his entire career on "karma chips" and personal relationships, being sidelined during such a tumultuous time for the company was a death knell. It wasn't just about him anymore; it was about the brand he’d spent decades building.
Where Does the Music Live Now?
The fallout didn't stop with the lawsuit. By early 2024, the entire Hipgnosis empire was under siege. Investors were unhappy, the board was in turmoil, and the catalogs—those "uncorrelated assets"—were being shopped around.
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In a move that felt like the final closing of the Big Deal chapter, it was announced in June 2025 that the Big Deal Music catalogue was being sold to Sony Music Publishing.
Think about that for a second. The company started as a refuge from the majors. It was then bought by a fund trying to beat the majors. And in the end? It was absorbed by the biggest major of them all.
Why the Big Deal Legacy Still Matters
Despite the controversy surrounding Macpherson personally, you can't erase what that team accomplished between 2012 and 2020. They proved that a creative-first approach could still win. They helped launch "Story of My Life" and "Stitches." They supported artists like Kamasi Washington and Sleater-Kinney when they needed a champion, not just a check-cutter.
If you’re a songwriter or someone working in the business today, there are some pretty clear takeaways from the saga of Kenny Macpherson Big Deal Music:
- Independence is a double-edged sword. It gives you the freedom to sign who you love, but eventually, the scale of the hits often forces you into the arms of a buyer.
- The "Human Element" is fragile. Music is a relationship business. When the person at the top becomes the story, the music often gets lost in the noise.
- IP is King, but Management is Queen. The songs Big Deal signed are still generating millions. Even as the company dissolved and the leaders changed, the "Story of My Life" royalties keep flowing.
What’s next? Well, the "Big Deal" name is essentially a ghost now, living on as a line item in Sony's massive database. Macpherson’s legal battles continue to play out, and the industry has largely moved on to the next big thing. But for a decade, they were the proof that you could be a "Big Deal" without being a "Big Corp."
If you’re looking to protect your own creative rights or understand how these shifts affect your royalties, your best bet is to stay educated on the difference between administrative deals and co-publishing agreements. The landscape is shifting toward smaller, more transparent administrative entities—ironically, exactly what Kenny and his crew were trying to build in the first place.
Keep an eye on the trades for the final resolution of the 2023 litigation, as it remains a cautionary tale for executive conduct in a post-2020 world. For now, the music remains—even if the company that nurtured it is gone.