If 2020 was the Peak of Inflated Expectations in the hype cycle and the start of 2021 was the Trough of Disillusionment, then we are now in the period of slow, steady consolidation, where the real market is built out of the rubble of over-zealous hype. With so many investments made in 2020, there was always going to be a consolidation opportunity for those players with a sound, longer-term view.
October, 2021
David Bowie estate in talks to sell catalog for $200m (report)
According to the Financial Times, the estate of David Bowie is negotiating the sale of the legendary artist’s songwriting catalog. Citing ‘people familiar with the matter’, the FT reports further that negotiations ‘are at an advanced stage’ and that the catalog has ‘attracted bids of around $200 million’.
Source: David Bowie estate in talks to sell catalog for $200m (report)
Goodbye Hadopi: France Will Launch New ‘Arcom’ Anti-Piracy Agency in 2022
After more than a decade of operations, France’s Hadopi agency will now complete its merger with the Higher Audiovisual Council to create a new and powerful regulator. Following the French parliament’s adoption of a new law last month, the Arcom body will launch in January 2022, tackling everything from illegal streaming and site blocking to the disruption of unlicensed sports broadcasts.
Source: Goodbye Hadopi: France Will Launch New ‘Arcom’ Anti-Piracy Agency in 2022 * TorrentFreak
How Artists and Writers Are Covering Their Bases in the Post-’Blurred Lines’ Era
Following the “Blurred Lines” verdict, artists have been more careful than ever about spotting problematic interpolations ahead of time. Looming fears of plagiarism accusations turn nervous artists, songwriters, and their teams to consult forensic musicologists to do preliminary analyses on songs that borderline inspiration and infringement with past work.
Utopia Music acquires Lyric Financial, expands into the US
Utopia, with offices in Zug, London, Helsinki and Stockholm, says it’s on a mission to revolutionize the monitoring of music consumption – and consequent royalty payments to rights-holders – worldwide. The company claims to be building a technology platform that “brings a completely new approach to serving all music industry needs and to enable accounting, transparency and efficiency, repairing the fragmented industry along the way”.
Source: Utopia Music acquires Lyric Financial, expands into the US
The Lucrative Afterlife of Music Estates
There is a real pressure on those left to run an estate to ensure that the artist does not fade from the public’s view and become an anachronism. There are more opportunities now for estates to take the lead, but for a long time the estate was at the mercy of the whims of the record labels that controlled a deceased act’s recordings.
Source: The Lucrative Afterlife of Music Estates: ‘A complex balancing act between the past and the future.’
Endeavor Content solicits bids for more than $750 million
Endeavor, run by super-agent Ari Emanuel, is selling 80% of its studio division as part of an agreement with the Writers Guild of America that forced agencies to sell majority stakes in their content divisions. Earlier this year, CAA sold a majority stake in Wiip, the producer of HBO’s “Mare of Easttown,” to Korean company JTBC Studios.
Media company share prices: News giants recover from Covid-19 slumps
In the US and UK media sectors, news publishers including News Corp, the New York Times, Reach and Gannett were among the worst hit by the pandemic. Just over 18 months on, and Press Gazette analysis today shows how Britain and America’s largest listed consumer publishers have staged a full comeback on the stock market – and are now worth more than they were at the end of 2019.
Source: Media company share prices: News giants recover from Covid-19 slumps
Music’s Whac-A-Mole Menace: How the Moldy, Lopsided DMCA is Hurting Artists
The DMCA has created a landscape that not only makes it exceedingly difficult for anyone in music to track and monitor their copyrights, but also all the legal, licensed music you see on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook — artist advocates and industry figures claim these companies have been able to leverage their copyright liability protections to set outrageously low payouts to the rights holders of all that music.
Source: Music’s Whac-A-Mole Menace: How the Moldy, Lopsided DMCA is Hurting Artists
Universal Music Group joins WIPO for Creators as first corporate sponsor
Universal Music Group has become the first corporate Sponsor of WIPO for Creators, an initiative that aims to ensure that creators around the world are recognized and fairly rewarded for their work. The initiative aims to achieve this by increasing knowledge and awareness of creators’ intellectual property (IP) rights.
Source: Universal Music Group joins WIPO for Creators as first corporate sponsor