The company announced today that they’ve closed a $65 million Series B led by Mary Meeker’s firm Bond. NEA, Breyer Capital, Tull Investment Group, NetEase, Dapper Labs and Coinbase Ventures also participated in the deal. Mary Meeker will be joining the Genies board. The company didn’t disclose the Genies’ most recent valuation.
Source: Avatar startup Genies scores $65 million in funding round led by Mary Meeker’s Bond
The acquisition was for more money than expected, according to TMZ, which reports that Square paid $350 million to buy an 80% stake in TIDAL. That figure was $53 million bigger than the number the two parties announced in March ($297 million), when they said they had entered into a definitive agreement for Square to acquire its majority stake.
Warner Music Group has announced a partnership with and investment in virtual entertainment company Wave, which has hosted livestreams by the Weekend, John Legend, Tinashe and others. According to the announcement, Wave will develop virtual performances, experiences, and monetization opportunities for WMG’s global roster of emerging and established artists.
Source: Warner Music Partners With Wave Livestreaming and Virtual Entertainment Company
Warner Music Group (WMG) has inked a global partnership with Genies, which dubs itself “the world’s largest avatar technology company.” The deal will see the two companies develop avatars and digital wearable NFTs for WMG artists. According to a media statement, WMG’s artists will be able to “produce and distribute virtual beings that facilitate fan reach across immersive platforms and metaverses.”
Source: Warner Music Group partners with tech company Genies to develop avatars and NFTs for WMG artists
Verdigris Ensemble premiered Betty’s Notebook as a live concert in 2019. The choral work is based on the notebook of Betty Klenck, a 15-year-old who heard what sounded like distress calls from Amelia Earhart as she listened to a shortwave radio in 1937. Reeves began the process of developing Betty’s Notebook into a programmable music work by listening to recordings of that concert as well as revisiting an interview with the grown-up Betty Klenck Brown as she recalled the distress calls.
Source: From Stage to Blockchain: How Artists Turn Choral Music Into an NFT
Source: Epic vs. Apple Trial Features Battle Over How to Define Digital Markets
AT&T shareholders on Friday voted against a measure to approve executive compensation, according to preliminary voting results from the company’s annual meeting. The total compensation package for Jason Kilar, chief executive of AT&T’s media unit WarnerMedia, was more than $52 million, more than double the $21 million for AT&T CEO John Stankey, according to the company’s proxy statement.
Source: AT&T shareholders vote against approving executive compensation
Verizon will sell its media group to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion, the companies announced Monday. The sale allows Verizon to offload properties from the former internet empires of AOL and Yahoo. Verizon will keep a 10% stake in the company and it will be rebranded to just Yahoo.
Source: Verizon sells media businesses including Yahoo and AOL to Apollo for $5 billion