Chinese games and tech firm NetEase has unveiled plans to spin off its music streaming business NetEase Cloud Music into a company that would have its own listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It had 180 million monthly users at the end of 2020, making it the number two online music player in China.
Source: China’s NetEase to Spin Off Music Streaming Division
Royalty Exchange, a marketplace where music artists can offer shares of future royalties in exchange for immediate funding from investors, has opened its business to YouTube creators. Prankster CJ So Cool, who has 8.7 million subscribers and nets an average of around 30 million views per month, is the first YouTuber to make an offering on the platform.
Source: YouTuber CJ So Cool Is Auctioning 35% Of His Future Royalties For At Least $850,000 – Tubefilter
Fan funding platform, Corite – co-founded by Universal Music Sweden alumni Mattias Tengblad (CEO) and Emil Angervall (COO) – has inked a partnership with L.A-based HITCO Entertainment. HITCO, run by L.A Reid and Charles Goldstuck, has acquired a minority stake in Corite and will help the company launch in the US.
“We are really excited about MGM,” the founder and outgoing CEO said, touting the library of over 4,000 films and 7,000 television shows. “The acquisition thesis here is really very simple. MGM has a vast, deep catalogue of much beloved intellectual property. And with the talent at Amazon and the talent at MGM Studio, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st Century.”
T
he pairing of AT&T’s $43 billion spinoff of WarnerMedia with Discovery as well as Amazon’s $8.54 billion acquisition of MGM Studios presents the Biden Administration with its first major merger reviews. How will the examinations play out?
Source: How Will Biden Regulators Respond to Amazon-MGM and Discovery-Warner?
Amazon officially announced a deal to acquire MGM for $8.45 billion, bringing the ecommerce giant a wealth of movie and TV properties. MGM, founded in 1924, complements Amazon Studios, which has primarily focused on producing TV programming, the companies said. Amazon will help “preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films” and provide customers with greater access to these existing works, the companies added.
Source: Amazon Buys MGM, Studio Behind James Bond, for $8.45 Billion
Non-fungible token (NFT) platform OneOf has raised $63 million in a seed round from prominent tech and music industry veterans. The platform was co-founded by tech entrepreneur Lin Dai, digital media executive Joshua James, and music industry veteran Adam Fell, in partnership with Quincy Jones and Quincy Jones Productions.
Source: Music NFT platform OneOf, co-founded in partnership with Quincy Jones, raises $63m in seed funding
Big tech companies have been eyeing big media companies for years — but they’ve never gotten together before. Now it’s finally, probably happening: Amazon is getting ready to pay $9 billion for MGM Holdings, the Hollywood studio that brings you James Bond and a smattering of other stuff, like the Pink Panther movies and The Handmaid’s Tale TV show.
Source: Why Amazon is paying $9 billion for MGM and James Bond
Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine announced a new antitrust suit against Amazon Tuesday, accusing the company of stifling competition by exerting control over third-party sellers. The lawsuit, filed in DC Superior Court, alleges that Amazon fixed prices on its massive online retail platform by blocking third-party sellers from selling their products for less elsewhere.
Source: DC attorney general files antitrust suit against Amazon over third-party seller agreements
Influence Media Partners launched a fund in March to invest in what it described as “award-winning catalogs of some of music’s most influential female music creators”. The fund, co-founded with Municipal Employment Retirement System (“MERS of Michigan”), carries an initial value of up to $100 million in investable capital.
Source: Influence Media Partners buys catalog from Grammy-nominated songwriter Julia Michaels