Epic Games is slashing its workforce by 16%, laying off about 830 employees, as it looks to cut costs. The cutbacks were announced in an internal memo from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney. In addition to the layoffs, the company is selling Bandcamp the music store and community platform it acquired in 2022, and will spin off most of SuperAwesome, the kids’ digital marketing company Epic bought in 2020.
Source: Fortnite Developer Epic Games Axing 16% of Staff, Laying Off 830 Employees, and Sells Bandcamp
Source: WSJ News Exclusive | OpenAI Seeks New Valuation of Up to $90 Billion in Sale of Existing Shares
Amazon on Monday said it will invest up to $4 billion in cash in the high-profile startup Anthropic, in its effort to compete with growing cloud rivals on artificial intelligence. In a joint interview, the CEOs of Amazon’s cloud division and Anthropic said the immediate investment will be $1.25 billion, with either party having the authority to trigger another $2.75 billion in funding by Amazon.
Source: Amazon steps up AI race with up to $4 billion deal to invest in Anthropic
The case appears to have sent a shockwave through the expanding ecosystem of film and television projects seeking to leverage NFTs to raise funds directly from loyal fan bases, instead of depending on the hyper-centralized studio system for financing and distribution. “It’s pretty awful and has me super worried,” the creator of an upcoming independent television series backed by NFTs told Decrypt on the condition of anonymity.
Source: Will SEC’s ‘Stoner Cats’ Action Have a Chilling Effect on NFT Media Projects? – Decrypt
BMI is looking for “a partner who can help us take advantage of new opportunities and provide a new level of investment and technological expertise,” according to a Sept. 5 letter from CEO Mike O’Neill to creators groups published on BMI’s website. New Mountain Capital, which is in an exclusive period to negotiate a deal with the performance rights organization, could be such a partner, executives familiar with the private equity sector suggest.
Source: A BMI Sale Has the Music Industry On Edge — But Could It Benefit Songwriters?
Multimedia Music has closed a deal to acquire the music publishing rights from the film music library of Millennium Media. MMM will co-publish the catalog with current co-owner and administrator Kobalt Music. The catalog deal follows a recent intensive round of acquisition activity by MMM. In addition to the purchases of a 50% stake in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners catalog and the acquisition of the STX Entertainment music library, MMM purchased the Atlantic Screen Music library.
Source: $200m-backed Multimedia Music acquires music library of Hollywood film company Millennium Media
The catalog includes works of the bands REO Speedwagon, KISS, and Cheap Trick. The Mojo catalog spans nine decades and comprises more than 30,000songs including 89 Billboard No.1 hits, adding what Concord says is “a remarkable selection of music” to its publishing portfolio of 800,000 songs. The company says that the deal “further highlights Concord’s continued strategic growth”.
Source: Concord acquires Mojo Music & Media’s catalog of more than 30,000 songs
After months of rumors, Katy Perry has sold her music rights to Litmus Music, the Carlyle-backed company co-founded by former Capitol Records president Dan McCarroll, for $225 million, the company announced Monday. The deal includes Perry’s stakes in master recordings and publishing rights for the five albums she released between 2008 and 2020.
Source: Katy Perry Sells Catalog Rights to Litmus Music for $225 Million
Wiedenfels said that the media company had been “hopeful” the strikes would be over by early September. They weren’t — so WBD issued the warning to investors that the strikes would lower its total earnings given that content releases would be “subdued” in Q3 and Q4.
UK-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) has today (September 14) issued its shareholders a proposal to sell 29 catalogs from its portfolio for USD $440 million to another Hipgnosis fund – the private, Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital (HSC). In an announcement to its investors this morning, Hipgnosis Songs Fund makes no bones about one of its primary motivations for selling the 29 catalogs to HSC: That it will act “as a catalyst for a re-rating of [HSF’s] share price”.