Analysis News From Universal’s TikTok deal to Blackstone’s bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days…
Analysis News Live Nation revenue reached $3.8bn last quarter; attendance grew 21% to 23m fans in Q1The concert giant's latest financial results were published on Thursday (May 2)
News Warner’s Songkick strikes partnership with ticketing and marketing company ShoobsPartnership aims to boost the visibility of Black culture events and gigs
News Concord Label Group hires former UMG execs Brad Clark and Kristen Reed to its data analysis teamsThis is the second round of senior hires at Concord Label Group just this week
News Steve Redmond to step down as Global Head of Communications at BMG“Steve Redmond has played a pivotal role over more than a decade in helping define BMG as a new kind of music company," said BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld said
Analysis News Universal Music Group generated $2.8 billion in Q1 – up 7.9% YoYUMG, which trades on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam, has published its Q1 results (for the three months to end of March)
News Korean regulators approve Kakao’s takeover of SM Entertainment, amid ongoing stock price manipulation probeKakao's music streaming service Melon will be monitored for signs of anti-competitive practices
News HYBE’s revenue dropped 12% YoY in Q1; Weverse platform saw user decline amid ongoing BTS droughtAlthough it’s common for HYBE’s earnings to decline in the winter months of Q1, the size of this drop surprised analysts
News SoundCloud launches ‘fan-powered’ Buzzing Playlists to spotlight up-and-coming artistsThe streaming service aims to address the "zero-plays problem" caused by a massive influx of new music
News John Lennon’s ‘Mind Games’ gets meditative remixes through Lumenate partnershipLumenate aims to make psychedelic therapy accessible to everyone through a smartphone app
News Sir Lucian Grainge confirms ‘greater compensation’ is coming from TikTok for UMG artists and songwritersMBW obtains memo from Sir Lucian Grainge to his employees, detailing new agreement with TikTok
Analysis News Universal Music and TikTok strike new licensing deal – including ‘improved remuneration’ for UMG artists and songwritersThe announcement brings to an end a long-running licensing dispute between the two companies.
News Artists have earned $123m via Bandcamp Fridays since 2020 and fans have paid artists and their labels $1.3bn via the platform to dateThe direct to fan platform celebrates its 40th Bandcamp Friday on May 3
News The NMPA’s TikTok deal has officially ended. What does that mean for independent publishers in the US?“Music is essential to TikTok. As we have said, we are not engaging in an extension of our deal," said NMPA President & CEO David Israelite
News UK lawmakers call for AI legislation to protect artists from deepfakes, copyright infringement"Our central insight must always be that AI can be a great servant but would be a terrible master"