The heartbreaking reason Justin Bieber was forced to sell his $200M music catalog: doc

Yahoo

08-06-2025

Justin Bieber was allegedly 'on the verge of financial collapse' when he sold his $200 million music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital in 2022, a new documentary claims.
'I was on a call with multiple people — Justin's side acknowledges that in 2022, he was on the verge of … the words were 'financial collapse.' And that's why he had to sell his catalog,' TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin alleged in the 'TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber?' doc, which is now streaming on Hulu.
'Justin said, 'I gotta sell it now.' And he sold it in December. That's how broke he was.'
Levin speculated that the 'Sorry' singer — whose net worth has been estimated at $300 million — found himself 'broke' in part due to money trouble stemming from debts accrued after he canceled his 2022 Justice Tour.
A TMZ staffer also alleged in the documentary that Bieber, 31, was spending massive amounts of money on the tour — with eight buses and $2 million spent in bus renovations — and in his everyday life by flying on expensive jets and purchasing several mega-mansions.
Had he finished the tour, TMZ executive producer Don Nash claimed that Bieber would have made $90 million.
A rep for Bieber did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment.
Rumblings of financial problems have been circling around the pop star for some time.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Bieber was in millions of dollars worth of debt to his former manager, Scooter Braun, despite parting ways with the music mogul almost two years ago.
According to an independent six-month audit conducted by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the singer owes Braun over $8,806,000.
At the time, a source told Page Six that the debt stems from a loan the mogul made to Bieber to 'help him' after his canceled tour set him back $20 million.
Last October, an insider told Page Six that the 'Peaches' singer's spending habits were 'out of control.'
'He spends eye-watering amounts per month. At one point, he couldn't even get a credit card,' the source claimed. 'Justin is surrounded by a lot of people that do not have his best interests at heart.'
The same comments were echoed in May as several of the Grammy winner's friends expressed concern over his continued big spending — despite his alleged financial struggles.
'He's flying in all his friends on private jets to his birthday party, putting it all over Instagram,' a source exclusively told Page Six at the time. 'He'll spend $300,000 at the Nobu at Coachella. He hasn't worked in a really long time.'
In addition to his alleged financial woes, many have speculated about the singer's mental health after he was seen on several occasions partaking in recreational drug use and exhibiting erratic behavior.
In April, several sources within Bieber's inner circle told the Hollywood Reporter that they feared they were watching him 'disintegrate' due to 'not living his purpose.'
'He's lost,' one former colleague, whose identity and position were not revealed, claimed. 'There's no one protecting him because there's no one there willing to say 'no' to him. You say 'no,' you get blown out.'