Sources confirm press reports that the Kobalt Music Group, which houses its platform and the vast majority of its staff, is being shopped; and some are wondering why the two pieces — the fund owning the copyrights and the larger platform — weren’t shopped together because the latter would have been easier to sell if it came with the former.
Source: After Hipgnosis’ Purchase of 33,000 Songs, What’s Next for Kobalt Music Group?
Stock prices for live music companies skyrocketed Monday morning on news that a COVID-19 vaccine was found to be 90% effective. At 9:15 am ET, just 30 minutes after Pfizer’s press release with its vaccine trial results, Live Nation was +20.8% to $67.73, Madison Square Garden Entertainment was +21.4% to $84.44 and Germany concert promoter CTS Eventim was +23.5% to $51.90.
Source: Live Music Stocks Soar on COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough
Wondery’s network of shows is estimated to draw in around eight million listeners a month. It holds the rights to a wide variety of podcast content, with a dozen TV shows based on those podcasts in development. One of those podcasts, WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork is being adapted into an Apple TV+ exclusive documentary.
Source: Apple Rumored to Acquire Wondery Podcast Network for Exclusives
In IAC’s third-quarter earnings report, CEO Joey Levin told investors that Vimeo–one of numerous IAC subcompanies–has seen dramatic growth this year due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Vimeo was once intended to compete with YouTube as a hub for user-generated content, but in recent years has pivoted to offering turnkey tools for various aspects of digital video, including livestreaming and screen recording, editing, distribution, storage, and monetization.
Source: Vimeo Raises $150 Million Amid Record Revenue Growth, Eyes Spinoff From Parent IAC – Tubefilter
Canadian performing rights society SOCAN generated revenues of CAD $405.6 million (approximately $310.5m) in 2019, up 8.2% compared with 2018, according to its final 2019 financial results, which were published yesterday (November 4). However, the body’s payouts to members totalled CAD $296m ($226.6m), a 6% decline compared with the CAD $315m ($241m) distributed in 2018.
Source: SOCAN revenues grew 8.2% in 2019 – but payments to songwriters and publishers shrunk by 6%
Canada’s broadcast regulator estimates, according to its most recent financial data, that streaming services record annual revenue of roughly 5 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $3.77 billion. Canada is eyeing nearly C$1 billion a year to finance the making of Canadian television shows, films and music.
Source: Canada Targets Online-Streaming Services With Cultural Levy
Late-stage investors have been pouring capital into established gaming companies like Scopely, which on Wednesday announced a $340 million investment round at a $3.3 billion valuation. But venture capital simply hasn’t given the gaming industry and the broader synthetic market the attention it deserves given its place in the entertainment and cultural firmament.
Source: Gaming rules the entertainment industry, so why aren’t investors showing up?
In just the last two years, the media business has undergone a massive transformation through deal-making: AT&T- Time Warner, ViacomCBS, Disney-Fox, and Discovery-Scripps. With government antitrust focus on the digital giants, is more in store for traditional media deal-making?
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. continues its acquisition binge by acquiring the Kobalt Music Copyrights Fund 1. In total, the 42 catalogs comprise over 33,000 songs written by over 1,500 songwriters. Hipgnosis Songs says it is paying $323 million and funding the acquisition through a combination of equity and borrowings from its recently expanded revolving credit facility.
Source: Hipgnosis Songs Buys Kobalt Music Catalog: 33,000 Songs for $323 Million