Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we ensure that you caught the 5 greatest 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 cut back their touring prices.
The top of September arrived with large information about direct-to-fan platform Bandcamp.
Simply 18 months after being acquired by Epic Video games, the maker of hit online game Fortnite, Bandcamp has a brand new proprietor.
Epic Video games has bought Bandcamp to Los Angeles-based B2B music licensing firm Songtradr.
In line with the press launch, the “acquisition will assist Bandcamp proceed to develop inside a music-first firm and allow Songtradr to develop its capabilities to assist the artist group”.
Elsewhere this week, Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl participated in a Q&A session on the Code Convention in Laguna Niguel, California, the place he mentioned AI, why labels nonetheless exist, and extra.
Additionally, the property of Ed Townsend, co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, formally ended their court docket battle with Ed Sheeran over their claims that Sheeran’s Pondering Out Loud copied the long-lasting Nineteen Seventies R&B track.
Plus, Latin music generated $627 million in gross revenues within the US in H1 2023, whereas Jet, the rock band behind Are You Gonna Be My Woman, struck a “landmark” catalog cope with BMG.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
1) SONGTRADR ACQUIRES BANDCAMP FROM FORTNITE MAKER EPIC GAMES
Los Angeles-based B2B music licensing firm Songtradr is buying Bandcamp from Epic Video games.
Songtradr says it would proceed to function Bandcamp as a market and music group with an “artist-first income share”.
The information arrives a yr and a half after Epic Video games (the maker of the hit online game Fortnite, and Unreal Engine) acquired Bandcamp – an internet music retailer and direct-to-fan platform…
2) WARNER MUSIC GROUP BOSS ROBERT KYNCL ON AI, WHY LABELS STILL EXIST, AND 2 OTHER THINGS WE LEARNED FROM HIS Q&A AT THE CODE CONFERENCE
In current months, Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl has been retaining an in depth eye on AI within the music business – not shocking, provided that he got here to the music biz from ‘Large Tech’, specifically YouTube, the place he was Chief Enterprise Officer.
Neither is it shocking, given his present function, that he has been pushing for value hikes at music streaming providers.
Each of those matters got here up throughout Kyncl’s Q&A session on the Code Convention in Laguna Niguel, California, on Tuesday (September 26).
However what was possibly extra shocking – for a techie like Kyncl, anyway – was his rational, level-headed clarification for why conventional music labels proceed to be related, and proceed to thrive, within the present music ecosystem…
3) ESTATE OF ‘LET’S GET IT ON’ CO-WRITER DROPS APPEAL IN ED SHEERAN ‘THINKING OUT LOUD’ COPYRIGHT BATTLE
The property of Ed Townsend, co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, have formally ended their court docket battle with Ed Sheeran over their claims that Sheeran’s Pondering Out Loud copied the long-lasting Nineteen Seventies R&B track.
A jury in a federal court docket in Manhattan dominated in favor of Sheeran in Could, rejecting the Townsend property’s assertion that Sheeran’s 2014 hit Pondering Out Loud “copied the guts” of Gaye’s 1973 hit Let’s Get It On.
That led to the Townsend property submitting an enchantment with the US Courtroom of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Nevertheless, in a submitting with the court docket final Wednesday (September 20), the household withdrew their movement for enchantment “with prejudice,” that means the case can’t be refiled…. (MBW)
4) LATIN MUSIC GENERATED $627M IN US RECORDED MUSIC REVENUES IN H1 2023 – UP 14.8% YOY
Latin music generated $627 million in gross revenues within the US within the first half of the yr.
That’s the headline stat from the Recording Trade Affiliation of America’s (RIAA) Mid-12 months 2023 Latin Music Report, which, revealed Wednesday (September 27), exhibits that on a retail foundation (cash spent on streaming subscriptions, in addition to bodily and digital music), Latin music revenues grew 14.8% YoY within the US in H1.
Latin music’s share of general US recorded music revenues grew from 7.1% within the first half of 2022 to a brand new excessive of seven.5% within the first half of 2023.
5) JET, ROCK BAND BEHIND ‘ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL’, STRIKES ‘LANDMARK’ CATALOG DEAL WITH BMG
BMG has acquired the recordings catalog of multi-platinum rock band Jet in Australia, in what the music firm says is a “landmark deal.”
Underneath the settlement, BMG has acquired the recorded music rights for Australia and New Zealand to Jet’s preliminary two albums, Get Born and Shine On.
In the remainder of the world, these albums will proceed to be owned by Warner Music Group. (Jet beforehand owned and licensed the recorded rights to the 2 albums in ANZ; these rights then reverted forward of the BMG deal.)
As well as, BMG has acquired the artist’s royalty stream around the globe for the 2 albums in perpetuity, in addition to the worldwide recorded rights to the band’s third album Shaka Rock…Music Enterprise Worldwide
