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 earnings and cut 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 fall, 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 staff – by the tip of September this yr.
We additionally came upon 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, personal 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 as a result of two firms being unable to achieve a licensing settlement, it emerged that a number of entities within the music trade are backing UMG within the ongoing spat.
The likes of Main 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 supply. UMG has additionally earned assist from A2IM, the US commerce physique that represents over 600 unbiased 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…
On the subject of the dispute between Common Music Group and TikTok over royalty funds – the speak of the music trade 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), by which analysts generally appeared as fascinated about speaking in regards to the UMG-TikTok scenario as they have been in WMG’s (reasonably spectacular) fiscal Q1 numbers.
Kyncl famous that, in his prior function as Chief Enterprise Officer at YouTube, he had himself skilled a lot of these 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…
“Proper now the CEO of TikTok might be sitting at dwelling watching this present, consuming an ice-cream, crying, seeing all of his exes in a single room. And you realize 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 most likely 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 amount of cash 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 unbiased distributors, efficiency rights organizations, and accumulating 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 take care of 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 High 50 TikTok tracks within the US have – because of the UMG scenario – already turn into unavailable in TikTok’s public music library.
In latest days, the likes of Main Wave, Downtown, Hipgnosis, and the Nationwide Music Publishers Affiliation have all publicly backed UMG’s refusal to re-license TikTok for the phrases on supply – phrases that Common says don’t symbolize honest worth for its music catalog.
Now, UMG has earned one other supporter on this struggle: A2IM, the US commerce physique that represents over 600 unbiased 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 trade that systemically underpays artists and labels, TikTok’s fee 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 stories.
In his new place, March is answerable 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 property below administration, confirmed in November that it’ll “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 response to an replace issued on Thursday (February 8), the deal has now obtained the mandatory 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 earnings and cut back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide
