The Universal Music Group’s prospectus for the company’s successful listing on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange revealed plenty of tidbits of information, in addition to providing financial insights to educate investors about the global music giant and its worthiness to be included in their stock portfolios.
Source: Beatles Royalties & Family Conflicts: We Read UMG’s 300-Page Prospectus. Here’s What We Found
Reservoir just recently announced its participation in the multimillion-dollar Series B of Audio Up, which debuted last year and previously raised $4.5 million in a Series A led by MGM Studios, per Crunchbase. Having taken several noteworthy steps in 2021 to achieve a greater presence “outside the vehicle,” SiriusXM led Audio Up’s latest raise, as mentioned, according to a separate release from the satellite-radio company.
Source: Reservoir, SiriusXM Back Podcast Company Audio Up in $12 MM Raise
Blackstone – one of the world’s largest alternative investment houses – is pumping a billion dollars into a new private fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital. In addition, Blackstone is investing an undisclosed amount into Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Song Management, the investment adviser that ultimately chooses how to deploy the money in Hipgnosis Songs Fund… and now, in Hipgnosis Songs Capital, too.
Source: What do Blackstone’s billions mean for Merck Mercuriadis’ mission for songwriters?
Spirit Music Group owner Lyric Capital Group and global investment firm Northleaf Capital Partners have struck a strategic alliance, through which funds managed by Northleaf hold an interest in certain music royalty catalogs managed by Lyric, led by Jon Singer, Managing Partner, and Ross Cameron, Partner.
Artists using UnitedMasters can now choose to be paid in US Dollars or in a cryptocurrency of their choice. UnitedMasters says that the goal is “to create more financial opportunities, equity and transparency to the dedicated, rising musicians utilizing our platform and to level the playing field so that they can stay independent and in control of their respective futures”.
Source: UnitedMasters partners with Coinbase to let artists get paid in cryptocurrency
Universal Music’s stock spinoff shows that equity markets like the sound of music companies — and its stock’s performance so far raises the odds that more companies will join the growing gang of public firms that now includes WMG and three publishing companies. Here’s an informed but speculative guide to which companies are likely candidates, how the market might receive them and what issues they would face.
Source: Who’s Next: Five Music Companies That Could Follow UMG and Go Public
As negotiations between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) resume this week, crews across the pond will be watching closely. Because while a film and high-end TV production boom in Britain has seen rates and opportunities blossom, it has also resulted in longer working hours, pressurized working conditions and an acute skills shortage.
Source: As IATSE Threatens Action in the U.S., Are U.K. Crews Ready to Do the Same?
As expected, Blackstone and Hipgnosis Song Management have launched a $1 billion partnership to invest in songs, recorded music, music IP and royalties, the companies announced Tuesday morning. The news comes amid a flurry of activity by major finance players in the music space, with KKR reportedly in negotiations to buy a $1 billion catalog from Kobalt Capital and Apollo Global Management is investing up to $1 billion in the new music rights firm HarbourView.
Source: Blackstone and Hipgnosis Song Management Launch $1 Billion Partnership
Primary Wave has acquired a stake in the assets owned by HLC Properties Ltd, the company owned by the estate of the legendary Bing Crosby. This includes the Bing Crosby Archives, featuring thousands of recordings by Bing Crosby and other artists, many of which have never been released.
Source: Another $50m+ music deal, as Primary Wave buys stake in Bing Crosby estate
Kobalt Music has been shopping its Kobalt Music Royalty Fund II, sources say, and is now involved in final negotiations or may have already closed the deal — which sources say is the $1 billion ball park — possibly with a group of investors that includes private equity firm KKR.
Source: Kobalt Seeking $1B Buyer for Catalog Believed to Include Lorde, The Weeknd Hits