Finance

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.

Source: Reservoir generated $16.7m in calendar Q2 – and paid out $6m in songwriter royalties and publishing costs

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

China’s Tencent Music Entertainment is to adjust its business model after being hit with regulatory penalties and seeing its share tumble to record lows. It will downplay music streaming and control of exclusive content and instead emphasize related services such as karaoke and social entertainment.

Source: Tencent Music Changes Focus After Regulatory Slap, Profits Drop

In June, Ackman announced he’d use his SPAC to buy the UMG stake after nearly a year of searching for a target. After pushback from the SEC, which among other issues questioned whether the deal met the New York Stock Exchange’s listing requirements, he announced he would be purchasing a stake through his hedge fund instead of a SPAC.

Source: Bill Ackman’s SPAC slapped with lawsuit claiming company is illegal

The biggest trade publishers continue to get larger: Hachette Book Group has entered into a “binding commitment” to acquire one of the industry’s largest and most unique independent publishers, Workman Publishing. HBG is paying $240 million for Workman, which had sales of $134 million last year. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Source: Hachette Book Group Will Acquire Workman Publishing for $240 Million

TikTok’s crop of book lovers are boosting sales for Canada’s largest bookseller. In its second-quarter earnings report, Indigo Books and Music Inc. said In its second-quarter earnings report, Indigo Books and Music Inc. said that #BookTok is having a noticeable positive effect on demand, especially for older titles.

Source: #BookTok Is Boosting Sales For Brick-And-Mortar Bookstores – Tubefilter

Disney Plus rebounded in the second calendar quarter of the year, reeling in 12.4 million net new subscribers to stand at 116 million worldwide as of July 3 — beating analyst targets. Wall Street analysts on average had forecast Disney Plus subscribers coming in at 112.8 million for the period.

Source: Disney Plus Tops Expectations, Reaches 116 Million Subscribers

US-based Tempo Music Investments has acquired a portion of Tyler Joseph’s catalog. The $1 billion backed Tempo was launched in 2019 and funded by Providence Equity Partners, a premier private equity firm specializing in the media, communications, education, software and services industries, in partnership with Warner Music Group.

Source: Tempo Music buys into music catalog of Twenty One Pilots’ singer-songwriter Tyler Joseph

Tensions between the creative community and the entertainment industry’s gatekeepers over compensation have been on the rise since spring of last year, when Covid-19 upended the way entertainment is distributed and consumed. Ultimately studios are moving toward the Netflix system—big upfront payments to talent and no profit participation; Netflix’s all-you-can-eat subscription model makes it virtually impossible to attribute revenue to a particular movie or series.

Source: Scarlett Johansson Lawsuit Stirs Debate Over Streaming-Era Movie Compensation

France-based Vivendi, parent of Universal Music Group, has sold 7.1% of that company’s share capital to Pershing Square Holdings, the investment firm managed by billionaire Bill Ackman, for $2.8 billion, with the possibility to sell him a further 2.9% by September 9, 2021. The deal values UMG — the world’s largest music company — at 35 billion Euros, or around $41 billion.

Source: Vivendi Sells 7.1% of Universal Music Group to Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square for $2.8 Billion