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
SESAC, which bought Harry Fox in 2015 and was acquired by investment-management company Blackstone in 2017, announced the Audiam buyout in a brief release today. This release doesn’t disclose the transaction’s financial terms or ownership specifics, besides noting that “SOCAN will retain a minority share in Audiam.” Also worth mentioning is that SOCAN kicked off 2021 by offloading B2B digital-music platform MediaNet.
Source: SESAC Acquires Audiam, Drawing Criticism From Founder Jeff Price
UnitedMasters has announced two head-turning new finance tools for indie artists – thanks to partnerships the firm’s struck with a duo of potentially game-changing music tech companies. The first tool, launched in partnership with beatBread, enables UnitedMasters to offer qualifying artists advances ranging from $1,000 to $1 million.
Johansson’s battle with the Burbank entertainment giant — in which she argues she was cheated out of pay by Disney’s decision to sell the movie on Disney+ while it was in theaters — is the latest and most high-profile example of a debate that’s been boiling under the surface in the entertainment industry. Disney says her case has no merit.
Source: Forget ScarJo vs. Disney. Hollywood’s streaming fight is just beginning
New York-headquartered Reservoir Media has this week confirmed its latest fiscal results, revealing that its total revenues in the year to end of March 2021 stood at $81.1 million – up 28% year-on-year. In calendar Q2 (the three months to end of June), Reservoir generated $16.7 million, up 23% year-on-year.
The US-based DIY distribution platform confirmed today (August 16) that it has accepted an investment from Insight Partners which values it at $1.3 billion. Silversmith Capital Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm that led DistroKid’s first outside investment in 2018, will retain “a meaningful ownership position” and remain on DistroKid’s board.
Source: DistroKid valued at $1.3 billion after funding from Twitter investor Insight Partners