Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we make certain 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.
This week noticed Warner Music Group report record-high revenues for the ultimate calendar quarter of 2023. The corporate reported USD $1.748 billion in world revenues in calendar This autumn, up 10.6% YoY on a normalized, fixed foreign money foundation.
That information got here in the identical 24 hours that WMG introduced it’s to chop round 10% of its workforce – affecting 600 workers – by the tip of September this yr.
We additionally discovered this week that Tom March has been appointed Chairman and CEO of Capitol Music Group, shortly after the announcement that Michelle Jubelirer had left the place.
Plus, non-public fairness agency New Mountain Capital accomplished its acquisition of performing rights org BMI, having gained shareholder and regulatory approval.
In the meantime, after final week’s earth-shaking information that Common Music Group‘s recordings are disappearing from TikTok because of the two firms being unable to achieve a licensing settlement, it emerged that a number of entities within the music business are backing UMG within the ongoing spat.
The likes of Major Wave, Downtown, Hipgnosis, and the Nationwide Music Publishers Affiliation have all publicly voiced their assist for UMG’s refusal to re-license TikTok for the phrases on provide. UMG has additionally earned assist from A2IM, the US commerce physique that represents over 600 impartial recorded music firms.
Elsewhere this week, Spotify introduced that it paid out USD $9 billion to music rightsholders final yr – and has paid out over $48 billion for the reason that platform launched in 2008.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
1) As Warner Music Group posts its largest ever quarter… WMG boss Robert Kyncl says he’s ‘assured’ that Common and TikTok will resolve their spat
In relation to the dispute between Common Music Group and TikTok over royalty funds – the speak of the music business over the previous few weeks – Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl is providing some cautionary recommendation: “No matter you learn within the press, don’t consider it.”
Kyncl made the touch upon WMG’s earnings name on Thursday (February 8), during which analysts generally appeared as focused on speaking concerning the UMG-TikTok state of affairs as they have been in WMG’s (fairly spectacular) fiscal Q1 numbers.
Kyncl famous that, in his prior function as Chief Enterprise Officer at YouTube, he had himself skilled these kind of rightsholder-vs.-platform conflicts, “so I do know precisely what Lucian and Shou are feeling,” he stated, referring to UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
Common’s recorded music catalog (about 3 million tracks) and its publishing catalog (practically 4 million songs) have began to vanish from TikTok, after TikTok’s licensing settlement with UMG expired on January 31, with no new settlement in place…
2) SPOTIFY PAID OUT $9 BILLION TO MUSIC RIGHTSHOLDERS IN 2023 – EQUIVALENT TO 63% OF ITS ANNUAL REVENUES
“Proper now the CEO of TikTok might be sitting at residence watching this present, consuming an ice-cream, crying, seeing all of his exes in a single room. And you understand what, TikTok? Disgrace on you. Disgrace on you for ripping off all of those artists. How dare you do this? [Pause] That’s Spotify’s job.”
Daniel Ek in all probability loved Trevor Noah’s TikTok-focused opening monologue at The Grammys on Sunday greater than most… till Spotify grew to become the punchline.
In what we’re certain is a coincidental announcement, Spotify confirmed on Thursday (February 8) the sum of money it paid out to music rightsholders in 2023 – and it’s a whopper.
The corporate says it delivered USD $9 billion final yr to recipients throughout file firms and music publishers, plus impartial distributors, efficiency rights organizations, and amassing societies…
3) Why indie file labels are backing Common Music Group’s motion on TikTok
Final week, as if you happen to wanted reminding, Common Music Group introduced that it had not reached a cope with TikTok to re-license its catalog on the video service. In consequence, UMG’s huge portfolio of music is now coming down from TikTok.
Over a 3rd of the present Prime 50 TikTok tracks within the US have – because of the UMG state of affairs – already develop into unavailable in TikTok’s public music library.
In latest days, the likes of Major Wave, Downtown, Hipgnosis, and the Nationwide Music Publishers Affiliation have all publicly backed UMG’s refusal to re-license TikTok for the phrases on provide – phrases that Common says don’t characterize truthful worth for its music catalog.
Now, UMG has earned one other supporter on this struggle: A2IM, the US commerce physique that represents over 600 impartial recorded music firms.
Right here, A2IM’s President & CEO, Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE, explains why A2IM is backing UMG’s motion in its standoff with TikTok, and why he believes that “in an business that systemically underpays artists and labels, TikTok’s cost methodology is uniquely disadvantageous“..
4) Tom March appointed Chairman & CEO of Capitol Music Group, Lillia Parsa named Co-President
Tom March has been appointed Chairman & CEO of Capitol Music Group (CMG).
The information was introduced on Wednesday (February 7) by Interscope Geffen A&M Information (IGA) Chairman & CEO John Janick, to whom March reviews.
In his new place, March is chargeable for the general administration and course of the corporate, which encompasses Capitol Information, Blue Observe Information, Motown Information, Astralwerks, Harvest Information and Capitol Christian Music Group.
March’s appointment to the function of Chairman & CEO of CMG follows the prior day’s information that Michelle Jubelirer had stepped down from her function as Chair & CEO of the Common Music Group-owned firm.
Jubelirer served as Chair & CEO of Capitol Music Group since 2021, having beforehand served as President, COO, and EVP at CMG…
5) New Mountain Capital-led group closes acquisition of BMI
It’s official: New Mountain Capital has accomplished its acquisition of US performing rights group Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).
NMC, which has over USD $45 billion in belongings below administration, confirmed in November that it’s going to “lead a shareholder group” to accumulate a majority stake in BMI.
The NMC transaction was topic to approval by BMI shareholders and customary regulatory approvals, and was anticipated to shut by the tip of this quarter (Q1 2024).
In accordance with an replace issued on Thursday (February 8), the deal has now obtained the required shareholder and regulatory approvals required for closing…
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and scale back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide
