From Block’s HIFI acquisition to Warner’s buyout of E-Positive in India… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up

Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we be sure that you caught the 5 largest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their revenue and scale back their touring prices.

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We realized this week that TIDAL‘s dad or mum firm Block has acquired HIFI, a music enterprise and monetary administration platform.

Based by Damian Manning (CEO), HIFI launched within the US in 2020 with main league supporters together with Matt Pincus, who joined HIFI’s board and have become an investor within the agency through his monetary automobile MUSIC – a three way partnership with LionTree.

HIFI’s sale to Block arrives a yr and a half after it accomplished a strategic funding round with a heavyweight checklist of backers, together with artists, executives, artist managers, and different outstanding traders.

Additionally this week, Warner Music Group introduced a brand new acquisition in India, shopping for outstanding artist administration and reside occasions firm, E-Optimistic.

Led by founder and CEO Naushad Khan, E-Optimistic is dwelling to celebrity artist Darshan Raval, whose tracks have been streamed greater than 9 billion instances throughout all platforms.

In the meantime, The Recording Trade Affiliation of America (RIAA) added AI vocal cloning companies as a brand new class of copyright infringer in its annual submission to the Workplace of the US Commerce Consultant’s ‘Evaluate of Infamous Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy’.

Plus, Carletta Higginson was named as WMG’s new Chief Digital Officer, whereas Universal Music Group‘s share value hit a 12-month excessive.

Right here’s what occurred this week…

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1) HIFI ACQUIRED BY TIDAL PARENT BLOCK

Enterprise and monetary administration platform HIFI has been acquired by TIDAL dad or mum Block, the tech firm led by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

The Block acquisition arrives only a yr and a half after HIFI accomplished a strategic funding spherical with a heavyweight checklist of backers, together with artists, executives, artist managers, and different outstanding traders…

Amongst those that participated in that eight-figure funding spherical had been Capitol Music Group Chair and CEO Michelle Jubelirer, Pink Gentle Administration founder Coran Capshaw, Patriot Administration founder Ron Laffitte, Maverick’s Gee Roberson, Wasserman Music’s Tom Windish, artist supervisor Brandon Creed, Hipgnosis’ Nick Jarjour, 300’s Rob Stevenson, TMWRK’s Andrew McInnes, and Mick Administration’s Jonathan Eshak and Michael McDonald.

Different traders within the spherical included Taz Taylor and Nick Mira of Web Cash, Diplo, 3LAU, G-Eazy, A-Trak, Hayden James, and the legendary Quincy Jones.

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2) WARNER BUYS INDIA-BASED MANAGEMENT AND LIVE EVENTS COMPANY E-POSITIVE, HOME TO SUPERSTAR DARSHAN RAVAL

Warner Music has acquired India-based artist administration and reside occasions firm, E-Optimistic.

Warner says that the deal strengthens its place out there and can permit its artists “to faucet into new experience in model partnerships and reside occasions”.

E-Optimistic is dwelling to Darshan Raval, who WMG says in a press launch “is among the prime 5 most streamed artists in India and the quickest rising artists within the area, having quadrupled his every day streams within the final 12 months…”

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3) UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP’S SHARE PRICE JUST HIT A 12-MONTH HIGH, AS COMPANY’S MARKET CAP CLIMBS TO $49 BILLION

The tip of October – particularly, Thursday, October 26 – guarantees to be an enormous one for the worldwide music enterprise.

For instance: it will likely be the day (barring some potential calendar shifts) that shareholders within the UK-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF), will vote on two vital issues: (a) Whether or not to maintain HSF persevering with to exist in its current type (i.e. a ‘continuation vote’); and (b) Whether or not to just accept a $440 million supply – from fellow Hipgnosis fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital – to purchase a portion of HSF’s copyright portfolio.

In the meantime, October 26 may also see Common Music Group current its newest quarterly numbers (Q3 2023) to shareholders.

UMG then plans to concern its stockholders with a EUR €0.24 per share dividend the next day – Friday, October 27.

Those self same UMG stockholders will seemingly be having fun with the present state of Common’s share value on the Amsterdam Euronext…

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4) MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES HATE AI VOICE-CLONING PLATFORMS THAT DON’T PAY. THE ONE THEY HATE MOST WAS CREATED BY A 20-YEAR-OLD UK STUDENT.

For years, the Recording Trade Affiliation of America (RIAA)’s annual submission to the Workplace of the US Commerce Consultant’s ‘Evaluate of Infamous Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy’ has consisted of a protracted checklist of pirate websites recognized to tear off copyrighted music.

Nevertheless, in its newest submission, for the USTR’s 2023 report, the RIAA has added a brand new class of copyright infringer: AI vocal cloning companies.

“The yr 2023 noticed an eruption of unauthorized AI vocal clone companies that infringe not solely the rights of the artists whose voices are being cloned but in addition the rights of people who personal the sound recordings in every underlying musical observe,” acknowledged the RIAA submission, which could be learn in full right here.

“This has led to an explosion of unauthorized by-product works of our members’ sound recordings which hurt sound recording artists and copyright house owners.”

The report solely particularly names one such service: the UK-registered Voicify.ai.

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5) CARLETTA HIGGINSON TO JOIN WMG AS CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER; ROBERT KYNCL POACHES ANOTHER EX-GOOGLE COLLEAGUE FOR SENIOR WARNER ROLE

Yet one more exec with a profitable observe file at Google/Alphabet is on their strategy to Warner Music Group. This week, the music firm confirmed that Carletta Higginson is becoming a member of WMG as Govt Vice President, Chief Digital Officer, efficient October 16.

Described by WMG as an “completed media govt and music rights knowledgeable”, Higginson joins WMG after a decade at Google, the place she labored in enterprise growth and authorized roles, throughout each music publishing and recorded music, most just lately as World Head of Music Publishing at YouTube and Google Play.

She beforehand labored as a litigator advocating for file labels, music publishers, artists, and songwriters…

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MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.

 Music Enterprise Worldwide