Finance

Concord closes $850m Asset-Backed Securities transaction 

The company said on Monday (October 28) that the transaction would “fuel strategic growth and acquisition[s]” and that it underscores its “ongoing effort to strategically grow and monetize its music assets and position the company as a consequential force in the music industry”. Concord’s ABS transaction is securitized by royalties from its catalog of over one million compositions, master recordings, and related assets.

Source: Concord closes $850m Asset-Backed Securities transaction to ‘fuel strategic growth and acquisitions’

The Hipgnosis Songs Fund catalog has just been valued at $2.36bn

Kroll’s report cites an unnamed independent third-party valuation firm that valued the HSF portfolio at USD $2.36 billion as of August 1, 2024. That’s around $150 million more than the total amount HSF spent buying its portfolio over the years ($2.206 billion, according to financial documents). It’s also around$150 million more than the portfolio’s estimated enterprise value of $2.20 billion when Blackstone acquired it this summer.

Source: The Hipgnosis Songs Fund catalog has just been valued at $2.36bn… around $150m more than HSF’s enterprise value when Blackstone acquired it

Six Biggest Companies to Spend $126 Billion on Content in 2024, up 9%, Led by Disney

That estimate comes from a new report by U.K.-based research firm Ampere Analysis. The spending across the six companies — Disney, Comcast, Google, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix and Paramount Global — will reach a new high in 2024 and account for 51% of the total content spending landscape, up from 47% in 2020, according to Ampere.

Source: Six Biggest Companies to Spend Record $126 Billion on Content in 2024, up 9%, Led by Disney

Microsoft’s AI demand under scrutiny as investors seek payday

Microsoft is expected to report its slowest quarterly revenue growth in a year on Wednesday, while investors await signs of AI demand amid growing worries about the slow payoff from hefty investments in the technology. There’s “a wall of worry” around Microsoft’s earnings, Morgan Stanley analysts said, pointing to “ramping capital expenditures, margin compression, lack of evidence on AI returns, and messiness post a financial resegmentation.”

Source: Microsoft’s AI demand under scrutiny as investors seek payday

Forget AI image generators, an autonomous AI artist just made $351,600 at Sotheby’s

One of the assurances we’re often given in responses to the fear that AI image generators could replace human artists is that there will always need to be a human involved. Generative AI needs a human creative to tell it what to do. But don’t tell that to Botto, a fully autonomous ‘AI artist’ who just raked in $351,600 in sales at the auction house Sotheby’s, setting a new milestone in the history of AI art.

Source: Forget AI image generators, an autonomous AI artist just made $351,600 at Sotheby’s

Meta signs its first big AI deal for news

Meta’s AI chatbot will soon begin citing Reuters reporting while answering news-related queries. The two companies have struck what Axios describes as a “multi-year deal” that will allow Meta to use Reuters content for its chatbot responses. The deal is the first of its kind for Meta, in an era of news outlets agreeing to provide their content to AI companies.

Source: Meta signs its first big AI deal for news

OpenAI and Microsoft are funding $10 million in grants for AI-powered journalism

OpenAI and Microsoft are funding projects to bring more AI tools into the newsroom. The duo will give grants of up to $10 million to Chicago Public Media, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Newsday (in Long Island, NY), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Seattle Times. Each of the publications will hire a two-year AI fellow to develop projects for implementing the technology and improving business sustainability.

Source: OpenAI and Microsoft are funding $10 million in grants for AI-powered journalism

Pink Floyd’s Complicated $400 Million Music Rights Sale to Sony

Pink Floyd’s music rights sale has had plenty of twists and turns, like a screenplay stuck in development hell. But the legendary English rock band has agreed to sell its recorded music, name, image, and likeness to Sony Music for $400 million. But it’s rare to see a deal that large that doesn’t include publishing rights. Instead, this Pink Floyd deal should be looked at as a pure streaming revenue play given its focus on recorded music.

Source: Pink Floyd’s Complicated $400 Million Music Rights Sale to Sony

Netflix Chief Doubles Down on Streamer’s Dealmaking Terms 

With the growth of Netflix and other streamers, top creators are starting to feel the loss of the long-tail income from syndication runs and international licensing, which is now limited to streamers with global scope such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Max and Disney+. Despite eye-popping upfront fees paid to top creative talent, the loss of annuity-like income from successful TV shows and movies has hit Hollywood hard in the pocketbook.

Source: Netflix Chief Doubles Down on Streamer’s Dealmaking Terms and Limited Theatrical Release Strategy

Streamers’ Evolving Acquisition Strategy Brings New Opportunities and Challenges for Broadcasters, Indie Producers

As streamers evolve their acquisition strategy in Europe, producers and broadcasters are finding new opportunities as well as challenges. “Back in 2020, 60% of the top 10 shows on Netflix were originals, and now, 60% of the top 10 shows are acquisitions, licensed in from AMC and others,” says Guy Bisson, executive director and co-founder of Ampere Analysis. The change reflects the “fundamental shift in attitudes towards licensing.”

Source: Streamers’ Evolving Acquisition Strategy Brings New Opportunities and Challenges for Broadcasters, Indie Producers

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