Finance

UMG parent Vivendi has confirmed it is examining a proposal to spin 60% of the music company out from the French company’s corporate ownership, and for UMG to start trading on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange by the end of 2021.

Source: Confirmed: Universal Music Group set to go public on Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange this year

The Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA), an association of European film and TV directors, has called on global streaming companies to share viewership figures and properly compensate filmmakers for success on their platforms.

Source: European Directors Call on Streamers to Commit to “Fair” Compensation

The current “pro rata” streaming payment system was established at a time when this format was fairly marginal; it was based on subscribers (mainly young people) who listened consistently throughout the day to songs formatted over an average duration of around 3 minutes 30 minutes. Today, streaming is practised by people aged 7 to 99, across all genres, from 3 minute songs to classical symphonies.

Source: Music streaming must switch to a fair and logical payout model. There is no time to lose.

The U.S. plan to force the sale has been shelved indefinitely, people familiar with the situation said, as President Biden undertakes a broad review of his predecessor’s efforts to address potential security risks from Chinese tech companies.

Source: WSJ News Exclusive | TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security

Universal Music Group (UMG) and K-pop giant YG Entertainment have invested an undisclosed sum in an up-and-coming global digital live-streaming platform established by BTS backer Big Hit Entertainment and cloud video tech firm Kiswe, the companies announced Tuesday.

Source: Universal Music, YG Entertainment Invest in Big Hit Entertainment’s Live-Streaming Venture

As the music business becomes more attractive to investors, it’s also becoming a magnet for alternative investment vehicles. And one of the most popular in the last two years is the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which provides a way for private companies to go public — and for individual investors to profit from that.

Source: SPAC Attack: The Music Business’ New Favorite IPO Strategy

EU lawmakers overseeing new digital regulation in Europe want to force Big Tech companies to pay for news, echoing a similar move in Australia and strengthening the hand of publishers against Google and Facebook. The initiative from members of the European parliament would be a serious blow to Google, which has threatened to leave Australia in protest at a planned new law that would compel it to pay for news.

Source: EU ready to follow Australia’s lead on making Google and Facebook pay for news

The year-round staff of 65 people at AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund diligently processes more than $60 million annually in musician royalties. Operating as a not-for-profit, the Fund is one of the hardest-working royalty-paying organizations in the U.S.-based music industry. Yet sadly, many musicians aren’t aware of their existence.

Source: $60 Million In ‘Non-Featured’ Musician Royalties Are Collected Every Year

Adding tipping to SoundCloud would be a great move, if not revolutionary, but could the service really go user-centric? Based on Deezer’s struggle to get even a limited trial up and running, SoundCloud couldn’t do it with major labels’ music and major publishers’ songs. But its community of entirely independent artists does open a pathway for some kind of experiment.

Source: Could SoundCloud beat other DSPs to user-centric payouts? – Music Ally

SoundCloud is preparing to introduce a new payment system that would allow fans to pay artists directly, multiple sources close to the situation tell Billboard, setting what could be a game-changing precedent for the streaming world.

Source: SoundCloud to Let Fans Pay Artists Directly: Exclusive