Industry groups representing major record companies and streaming platforms have a message for Canada’s telecom regulator: streaming is not radio, and shouldn’t be regulated as if it were. The groups were responding to the CRTC’s recent series of workshops on implementing new rules governing streaming services. Under those rules, streaming services that are not Canadian-owned are required to pay 5% of revenue into funds that subsidize Canadian content and creators.
Finance
Hipgnosis name and branding set to change to reflect new structure under Blackstone
MBW understands that Hipgnosis plans to reflect the unification of the management company and Hipgnosis’ two formerly separate portfolios (Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Songs Assets) under a single, new name. Internal discussions on the matter are well underway, we’re told, with an announcement on a new name expected around the turn of the year. “The existing names no longer accurately reflects the structure of the business.”
Startup Runway Giving Filmmakers up to $1 Million If They Use AI to Make Their Movies
Runway, the generative AI company that recently inked a first-of-its-kind deal with Lionsgate, will dole out grants of up to $1 million to filmmakers working on AI-powered projects. Runway is launching The Hundred Film Fund, an initiative to help produce and fund as many as 100 short films and feature-length movies that use generative AI technology to tell their stories.
OpenAI Is Growing Fast and Burning Through Piles of Money
OpenAI’s monthly revenue hit $300 million in August, up 1,700 percent since the beginning of 2023, and the company expects about $3.7 billion in annual sales this year, according to financial documents reviewed by The New York Times. But it expects to lose roughly $5 billion this year after paying for costs related to running its services and other expenses according to an analysis by a financial professional who has also reviewed the documents.
Source: OpenAI Is Growing Fast and Burning Through Piles of Money
Hollywood industry in crisis after strikes, streaming wars
Unemployment in film and TV in the United States was at 12.5% in August, but many think those numbers are actually much higher, because many film workers either do not file for unemployment benefits because they’re not eligible or they’ve exhausted those benefits after months of not working. As a whole, the number of US productions during the second quarter of 2024 was down about 40% compared to the same period in 2022.
Source: Hollywood industry in crisis after strikes, streaming wars
Netflix To Pitch Top Agents, Managers On Transparency At Event Tuesday
The topic of how the major streamers pay talent has been one of the dominant conversations in Hollywood over the past few months. Netflix is holding a presentation for top agents and managers where it will likely be discussed as the streamer is understood to be reevaluating how it structures its deals going forward. Agents and managers are expecting information about more transparency on how the streamer pays their talent
Daily Mail CEO on Google lawsuits, AI and why future of news is bright
DMG Media chief executive Rich Caccappolo has said that monopoly lawsuits against Google and the prospect of new UK tech regulation could bring huge benefits to news publishers. Speaking at the Press Gazette Future of Media Technology Conference in London this month, Caccappolo said he expects the major tech companies in the UK media market to get designated as having “strategic market status” by December this year.
Source: Daily Mail CEO on Google lawsuits, AI and why future of news is bright
UMG CEO: ‘Streaming will continue to propel many years of industry growth.’
Universal Music Group hosted its 2024 Capital Markets Day in London on Tuesday at the iconic Abbey Road Studios (which is owned by UMG). The event was kicked off by UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge. “Fact number one”, according to Grainge, is that “streaming has resulted in a quantum leap forward in music access and monetization and streaming will continue to propel many years of industry growth.”
Web3 music streaming platform Tune.FM raises $50m in funding
The company has now raised $80M in its efforts to cut out the middleman between artists and music streamers. Unlike traditional platforms where artists receive a fraction of streaming profits, Tune.FM claims to pay artists 90%of their streaming revenue through its JAM token. This stands in contrast to industry giants like Spotify, which distributes “nearly 70%” of its music revenue to rightsholders, who then further distribute it to artists and songwriters.
Source: Web3 music streaming platform Tune.FM raises $50m in funding
Spotify Stock Draws Bullish Analyst Assessments Amid Profit Push
Spotify stock has received multiple bullish assessments from analysts as it continues to target efficiency and profitability. To this point in September, these bullish Spotify stock positions have come from UBS, Wells Fargo, and Zacks Equity Research. the optimistic views appear to underscore confidence in the music streaming giant’s current business model. As highlighted, that model, defined by significant layoffs, multiple podcast cancellations, and a heightened focus on near-term profitability, has taken center stage in 2024.
Source: Spotify Stock Draws Bullish Analyst Assessments Amid Profit Push