What does Ackman think about UMG and WMG? In short, he thinks they’re both under-valued – but that, out of the two, UMG’s the better bet. And he believes that his investors’ chances of making a long-term loss on their near-$4 billion combined investment into Universal is “minimal”.
Source: Bill Ackman: Universal and Warner are both under-valued… but UMG’s the right bet for us
Thanks to historically low interest rates and the fervor of investors seeking a new steady stream of income, artists across the spectrum are doing what was once unthinkable — selling their music catalogs. But the window may be closing soon for musicians hoping to maximize their returns on what’s likely their most precious asset.
Source: Why This Is the Right Time to Sell Your Catalog (Guest Column)
BMG saw its half-year revenues grow 9% YoY at constant currency to €296 million ($357m) in the six months to end of June. That represented the music rights company’s best-ever midyear performance since it was formed in 2008. 62.9% of BMG’s revenues in the first half of 2021 were from publishing, with 37.1% from recordings.
Source: BMG revenues up 9% in first half of 2021… and it has over $1bn of acquisition deals in play with KKR
Current Primephonic subscribers are set to receive a free six-month Apple Music subscription, as Apple higher-ups don’t intend to roll out an updated version of the classical music service until 2022. “Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app next year combining Primephonic’s classical user interface that fans have grown to love with more added features,” the release indicates.
Source: Apple Officially Acquires Classical Music Giant Primephonic
These days, what happens in China echoes from Stockholm to Los Angeles. Tencent Music’s share price, which hit an all-time high on March 23, fell a whopping 74.6% as of Aug. 23, wiping out $40.1 billion of market capitalization. Among its major shareholders is Spotify, which in December 2017 acquired an 8.4% stake in the company that has dropped in value by $3.6 billion in roughly five months.
Source: How Tencent Music’s Problems Ripple Through the Business Worldwide
The studio lot industry is riding high on private equity money as investors bet that the busy facilities boosted by streaming projects will offer better returns than office towers: “It’s almost a guarantee the building will be filled.”
Source: Wall Street’s Red Hot Real Estate Play: Film and TV Soundstages
Justin Blau, better known by his DJ name 3LAU, on Thursday announced he has raised $16 million to launch Royal, a new music platform that will let fans buy NFTs to share in royalties earned by their favorite artists. If Royal succeeds, it could upend the business model of the music industry and push the fast-evolving world of NFTs into a new frontier.
Source: DJ 3LAU Raises $16M for NFT-based Music Platform Royal – Decrypt
Fox Corp. has come in as the lead investor in a $100 million Series A fundraising round for blockchain platform provider Eluvio. As part of the investment, Eluvio will provide the underlying technology platform for Blockchain Creative Labs. That non-fungible token (NFT) business and creative unit launched last May as joint venture of Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment.
Source: Fox Corp. Leads $100M Funding Round With Strategic Investment In Blockchain Firm Eluvio
In the past, a little ambiguity in entertainment contracts wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Disney’s reaction to Scarlett Johansson has lawyers less willing to leave things between the lines. As one top talent lawyer puts it, “If you’re going to ask for something, better be sure you’ll get it. Often, the smart ones conclude it’s in the best interest to not raise the issue. The last thing you wish to create is clarity that you don’t have what you wanted.”
Source: How the ‘Black Widow’ Battle Could Break the Mold on Hollywood Dealmaking
The Federal Trade Commission has filed an amended antitrust complaint against Facebook, alleging that the company violated federal antitrust laws with its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. The new complaint is a more detailed version of a charge dismissed by the court in June for insufficient evidence.
Source: FTC says Facebook has been a monopoly ‘since at least 2011’ in amended antitrust complaint