The ranks of media owners and entertainment companies are poised for their biggest makeover in a generation. Media titans such as Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery are cleaving off their cable-television channels, while television-station operators such as Allen Media and Apollo Global Management are exploring selling dozens of stations. Cox and Charter, two of the biggest cable and broadband companies, have agreed to merge.
Source: The Media and Entertainment Deal Machine Is Revving Up
Academic publishers are rushing to sign licensing deals with artificial intelligence companies, carving out a new revenue stream as US research funding cuts dim their outlook. Taylor & Francis signed a $10 million deal with Microsoft Corp. last year. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is looking to “monetize academic content through AI deals,” it said in its latest set of results, and John Wiley & Sons Inc. announced partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Perplexity earlier this year.
Source: Academic Publishers Sign AI Deals as Trump Cuts Research Funding
NYC Mayor’s office will soon conduct a census of music recording studios to quantify their economic impact. Shira Gans says the recording studio network in NYC is rapidly evolving, with many established studios closing and some new ones holding grand openings. To track the changing landscape, the Mayor’s office has created a survey that will be distributed to studio heads and other industry professionals.
Source: NYC Mayor’s Office Announces Music Recording Studio Census
Anthem Music Publishing has acquired the catalog of songs from legendary Country-Western singer-songwriter Marty Robbins. The catalog represents a cornerstone of American music history, marking a powerful addition to Anthem’s growing collection of culturally significant works. “Marty Robbins is a towering figure in American music—an artist whose storytelling transcended genre and era,” said Jason Klein, CEO of Anthem Music Group.
Source: Anthem Music Publishing Acquires Song Catalog of Marty Robbins
Hayden recalled the “confusing” email announcing her dismissal, which at first she thought might be one of the “fake emails” sometimes received in the workplace, noting that it was addressed to “Carla” and saying she was terminated “effective immediately.” (Typically, when the president of the United States wants to remove an appointee from a position, the president reaches out personally and offers to accept the appointee’s resignation.)
Source: Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Speaks Out on CBS
Disney said in a securities filing on Monday that it had agreed to pay Comcast an additional $439 million for full control of the streaming service, ending a year and a half dispute over the amount. Disney had argued that it owed Comcast nothing beyond the $8.6 billion it already paid for Comcast’s 33 percent stake — and Comcast countered that Disney owed another $5 billion. Eventually, a third-party appraiser was brought in.
Source: Disney Takes Full Control of Hulu for Billions Less Than Comcast Wanted
Sony Music Publishing has acquired Hipgnosis Songs Group LLC, previously known as Big Deal Music, from Blackstone’s Recognition Music Group, sources involved in the deal have confirmed. Big Deal Music was acquired by Hipgnosis Songs Fund in September 2020. As well as bringing 4,400 copyrights into Hipgnosis, that deal included the company’s US publishing admin business, Words & Music.
Source: Sony acquires company formerly known as Big Deal Music from Recognition
The Book Industry Study Group has announced the launch of Find a Rightsholder, a searchable database with information on how to reach rights and permissions contacts for more than 3,500 imprints. Unlike title management tools that seek to facilitate dealmaking and take a cut of any transaction, Find a Rightsholder is focused solely on helping the publishing community locate relevant contacts for U.S. and U.K. publishers.
Source: BISG Unveils New Rights Tool
HarbourView Equity Partners has secured $500 million in additional debt financing from investment giant KKR, secured via a private securitization backed by its music portfolio. This latest transaction follows a previous $500 million in debt financing secured by HarbourView in March 2024, through a private securitization backed by its catalog of music royalties, and led by KKR.
Source: HarbourView secures $500m in additional debt financing from KKR
Independent songwriters and composers have heard this song before; Bloomberg reports that major multi-national record labels are engaged in closed-door meetings with yet another group of tech companies over AI negotiations and copyright infringement liability. Unsurprisingly, independent music creators may as well be invisible in these discussions.
Source: Indie Songwriters Bristling Over Major Label AI Negotiations