Concord launched a USD $1.511 billion bid for the UK-listed company’s assets, at $1.25 per share. That bid very slightly topped a recent $1.50 billion takeover proposal from Blackstone, which valued HSF at $1.24 per share. Today (April 25), Blackstone issued a terse-but-fascinating comment to the markets, and specifically to HSF shareholders, in the wake of Concord’s new offer.
Finance
France’s Mistral AI seeks funding at $5 billion valuation
French tech startup Mistral AI has been speaking to investors about raising several hundred million dollars at a valuation of $5 billion, The Information reported on Tuesday. It’s unclear which investors Mistral has spoken to about a new funding round, the report said, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.Source: France’s Mistral AI seeks funding at $5 billion valuation
MMF: Is the music industry gaslighting artists?
With Government oversight and input, the industry has now collectively agreed (although not yet implemented) voluntary Transparency and Data codes. However, for the MMF and other members of the Council of Music Makers (the Ivors Academy, the Featured Artists Coalition, the Music Producers Guild, and the Musicians’ Union) the most pressing issues have always been financial. We want to address the mechanics and distribution of streaming revenue.
Source: Is the music industry gaslighting artists? – Music Ally
Cutting Edge Group secures $500m to fund music rights acquisitions
According to the announcement from UK-headquartered Cutting Edge today (April 15), the new funds will be used for a combination of “corporate purposes” and the acquisition of music rights across the film, TV, theatre, gaming, and wellness spaces. Cutting Edge said it has already identified a “circa USD $1.5 billion pipeline” of potential investments.
Source: Cutting Edge Group secures $500m to fund music rights acquisitions
UK politicians call for changes in streaming royalty split
The UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee issued a report on Wednesday (April 10) calling for a number of new policies, aimed at ensuring better compensation for people working in creative industries. One recommendation sure to get the attention of the music industry is a change to the split in streaming royalties between recorded music and music publishing.
Kiss Sells Catalog, Name, Likeness and More to Pophouse Entertainment for $300 Million
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Kiss have sold their music catalog, name, image and likeness — including their iconic makeup designs — to Pophouse Entertainment, the Sweden-based music investment firm behind ABBA’s “Voyage” hologram show. While terms of the deal were not officially announced, Bloomberg and Associated Press said it was worth upwards of $300 million.
Source: Kiss Sells Catalog, Name, Likeness and More to Pophouse Entertainment for $300 Million
Changes to Spotify’s royalty model, including the 1,000 annual streams royalty policy, are officially live as of April 1
Changes to the way Spotify calculates recorded royalties went live on the platform as of Monday. Spotify says it won’t share the number of unique listeners required to become eligible for royalties “to prevent further manipulation by bad actors”. Spotify said in a blog post that “99.5% of all streams” on its platform “are of tracks that have at least 1,000 annual streams”, and that “each of those tracks will earn more under this policy”.
Generative AI ‘FOMO’ is driving tech heavyweights to invest billions in startups
Tech giants aren’t doing much acquiring these days, due mostly to an unfavorable regulatory environment. But they’re finding other ways to spend billions of dollars on the next big thing. Amazon’s $2.75 billion investment in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, announced this week, was its largest venture deal and the latest example of the AI gold rush that’s prompting the biggest tech companies to fling open their wallets.
Source: Generative AI ‘FOMO’ is driving tech heavyweights to invest billions of dollars in startups
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Audit Says Fund ‘Failed to Perform’
Shot Tower Capital has engaged in an independent audit of Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s assets, lowering the valuation of its assets by 26%. This follows a report on March 18 that revealed a double-counting error in Hipgnosis’ accrued revenue, with the board announcing a 7.6% reduction to its operative net asset value (NAV). The report also finds that Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s acquisition underwriting was “below music industry standards.”
Source: Hipgnosis Songs Fund Audit Says Fund ‘Failed to Perform’
SoundExchange Announces $11 Billion Distribution Milestone
SoundExchange, the entity tasked with collecting and distributing royalties for the use of recordings on non-interactive digital services, just recently unveiled this latest milestone via a brief release. SoundExchange towards the beginning of 2024 indicated that it had distributed over $1 billion during 2023, up from about $959 million in 2022. Bearing in mind this growth the $12 billion milestone will presumably arrive within the next year or so.
Source: SoundExchange Announces $11 Billion Distribution Milestone