Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we be certain 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 scale back their touring prices.
This week we realized, from information printed within the RIAA’s new midyear report, that the US noticed simply 2.5 million internet additions of Paid music subscription accounts in H1 2024 vs. the prior-year interval – an increase of simply 2.7% YoY in proportion phrases.
That +2.5 million YoY internet enhance in H1 2024 in comparison with a +6.6 million YoY internet rise in H1 2023, +7.9 million in H1 2022, +9.4 million in H1 2021, and +14.4 million in H1 2020 – a gradual sample of deceleration within the progress of subscriptions within the US market.
Additionally this week, we reported that Invoice Ackman‘s Pershing Sq. Holdings, which owns 10% of Common Music Group‘s fairness, not too long ago printed its interim monetary report for the primary half of 2024, through which it expressed confidence in UMG’s long-term prospects.
Plus, a outstanding music enterprise analyst simply upgraded UMG’s inventory from “impartial” to “outperform.”
We additionally realized this week that UK-headquartered Beggars Group is now a GBP £100-million-plus annual income firm.
In the meantime, Bertelsmann-owned BMG reported that its turnover hit EUR €459 million (USD $496m) within the six months to finish of June, up 11.1% YoY, or up 12.5% YoY on an natural foundation, as digital revenues considerably elevated their share of BMG’s total turnover.
Lastly, in a visitor column for MBW, Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of the moral generative AI non-profit, Pretty Skilled,argues that it’s time for DSPs to take motion towards music generated by AI fashions that had been educated on copyrighted music with out permission.
Necessary Knowledge Level 1: There have been 131.43 million households within the US final 12 months, based on Census information.
Necessary Knowledge Level 2: In response to new stats from the RIAA printed Thursday (August 29), there have been 99.0 million paid music streaming subscription accounts in H1 2024.
What we’re about to inform you, due to this fact, is not any nice shock. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless large information for the worldwide music business:
America seems to be formally nudging nearer to saturation level for music subscriptions – i.e. the second when the utmost doable quantity of paying American music subscribers has been reached…
There are few monetary analysts which have noticed the music enterprise – notably Common Music Group – for as lengthy, and as intently, as William Packer of BNP Paribas Exane.
On Thursday (August 29), Packer tweaked his view of Common Music Group’s inventory, and it’s excellent news for Sir Lucian Grainge and co: Packer has once more upgraded his inventory ranking, this time from “impartial” to “outperform”.
Beggars Group, the UK-based file firm that owns or co-owns XL Recordings, 4AD, Tough Commerce, Matador and Younger Recordings, amongst others, has reported a 13.3% YoY bounce in turnover for 2023, bringing its annual income above GBP £100 million for the primary time.
In response to its annual accounts, filed on Tuesday (August 27) with the UK’s Firms Home, the corporate owned by Martin Mills final 12 months introduced in income of £103.18 million (USD $128.33 million on the common trade fee for the 12 months).
In the meantime, XL Recordings, 50% owned by Beggars, reported an working revenue for 2023 of GBP £10.32 million (USD $12.8 million).
Throughout these 12 months, XL launched simply eight new albums — sustaining its monitor file of creating large bucks from comparatively few recordings…
BMG has reported double-digit income progress for the primary six months of 2024.
The Bertelsmann-owned firm’s turnover hit EUR €459 million (USD $496m) within the six months to finish of June, up 11.1% YoY, or up 12.5% YoY on an natural foundation.
Bertelsmann credited “robust progress in digital revenue streams” as a key driver of BMG’s progress, noting a “robust efficiency throughout its recordings and music publishing enterprise”.
The share of digital enterprise at BMG grew to 69% of its revenues in H1 2024 vs. 63% within the prior-year interval…
Ed Newton-Rex, former VP Audio at Stability AI and founding father of JukeDeck and moral AI licensing non-profit Pretty Skilled, writes for MBW:
There was at all times going to come back a time when streaming providers needed to make a name on what to permit on their platforms when it got here to generative AI. That point is now.
Up till now, Spotify has had no coverage explicitly banning AI-generated music. In 2023, Daniel Ek stated that instruments that mimic artists weren’t acceptable; these could also be forbidden beneath the corporate’s Misleading Content material coverage (the wording isn’t fully clear). However, in the identical interview, Ek particularly referred to as out AI music that didn’t straight impersonate artists as one thing they might not ban at this stage.
And there are indicators that, in consequence, AI music is all around the platform… For DSPs to proceed to permit that is to actively allow the exploitation of musicians’ copyrighted work and not using a license to take action.
When DSPs distribute music made utilizing AI fashions which can be educated on musicians’ work and not using a license, the dilution of the royalties paid to human musicians that these artists warned about is underway…
