SiriusXM informed the public of the imminent “impairment charge” in a recent release, ahead of its Q4 2020 earnings call, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 2nd. The expected impairment is a result of the anticipated operating performance of Pandora, primarily its royalty cost structure,” and “could be approximately $1.0 billion,” the text indicated.
Source: SiriusXM Warns of $1 Billion ‘Impairment Charge’ on Pandora
Max Haycock, an analyst at Stifel’s London division, recently downgraded the rating of Hipgnosis (traded as SONG on the London Stock Exchange) to “neutral,” specifying first that he and his team “feel uncomfortable with Hipgnosis’ valuation procedure” – particularly because the music industry is “opaque.”
Source: Hipgnosis Downgraded by Stifel Analyst Due to Valuation Methodologies
SOCAN and Audible Magic have also announced they have entered into a strategic partnership with the goal to use Audible Magic technology and services to help SOCAN improve operational accuracy and reporting to publishers and songwriters. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Source: Audible Magic acquires rights administration business MediaNet from SOCAN
UK-based song-investment fund Hipgnosis has been blocked from soliciting investors in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Africa, a new message on the website reveals. Upon navigating to Hipgnosis’ website, U.S.-based users are greeted with an “important” notice indicating: “Due to restrictions under applicable securities laws, access to this website is not permitted in certain jurisdictions.”
Source: Hipgnosis Blocked from Soliciting Investors in the U.S., Canada, & More
The local focus may be increasingly valuable given the broader economic challenges facing the local news business — as founder Jeff Zheng put it, there’s “strong user demand” for local news but “weak supply.” And the strategy seems to have paid off for News Break so far, with the app reaching the top spot in the News category of Apple’s U.S. App Store multiple times (it’s currently ranked No. 4), and in Google Play as well.
Yesterday (January 6), the board of Hipgnosis announced to investors that the firm had entered into a new agreement with a syndicated group of lenders, with JPMorgan Chase Bank as Lead Arranger. Those lenders have increased Hipgnosis’ Revolving Credit Facility from USD $400 million to $600 million.
Source: Hipgnosis secures another $200m to buy music copyrights
Warner Music Group has invested in kids’ gaming phenomenon Roblox, as the platform’s owner, Roblox Corporation, plans to float on the stock exchange via a Spotify-style direct listing. Warner has joined a $520m Series H investment round in Roblox Corporation at a purchase price of $45.00 per share.
Source: Warner Music Group joins $520m investment round in video game platform Roblox
The deal includes both 50% of the publisher share and 50% of the writer’s share in Young’s music, spanning his work with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Crazy Horse, in addition to the singer/songwriter’s full solo catalog. Industry experts suggest that the deal would have cost Hipgnosis in the region of $150m.
Source: Hipgnosis acquires 50% of Neil Young’s song catalog for around $150m
Hipgnosis Songs kept busy over the holiday: Not 24 hours after the fast-growing company announced that it acquired Jimmy Iovine’s production catalog, it announced it has acquired the music publishing rights of Lindsey Buckingham, best known for his work with Fleetwood Mac.
Source: Fleetwood Mac Vet Lindsey Buckingham Sells Publishing Catalog to Hipgnosis Songs
If the recent big-money acquisitions are anything to go by, catalogue – both recording and publishing – has never been valued higher. Hipgnosis is splashing hundreds of millions of dollars on the composition rights of big-name songwriters as fast as it can raise the money, and the $300m sale of Taylor Swift’s recordings to a private equity company is an intriguingly murky high-stakes tale.
Source: Experts panel: the secrets to unlocking the value of music catalogues