Ever wondered what Halsey’s “Without Me,” the Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker,” and Camila Cabello’s “Havana” all have in common? Probably not, but those hit songs all reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, they all scored massive royalties for their respective artists, and they were all co-written and co-produced by a Massachusetts native named Louis Bell.
At 39, Bell is now considered one of the go-to songwriters/record producers for today’s major artists, along with peers that include Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco. But unlike those names, Bell hasn’t been a top industry dog for well over a decade or two. In fact, his very first hit didn’t arrive until late 2016, when Justin Bieber topped the worldwide charts with “Let Me Love You,” a little ditty co-written and co-produced by Bell.
In the 4+ years since, an almost blinding streak of Bell-engineered hits have followed, including 18 Billboard top 10s and a whopping eight #1s. In 2019, Bell was named Variety’s producer of the year for his impact on the music industry. And earlier this year, Bell simultaneously signed a global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UPMG), and sold his entire music catalog to UPMG. While financial terms weren’t disclosed, music catalogs are in hot demand right now, with recent bidding wars pushing the sale prices of rivals’ catalogs well into the nine-figure stratosphere.
Newly flush with cash and in the mood to celebrate, the music powerhouse has now plunked down $12 million for a brand-new house in the mountains above Beverly Hills. James Harris of The Agency and Josh Flagg of Rodeo Realty jointly held the listing; Mark Rutstein and Charles Black of Compass repped Bell.