Finance

Multimedia Music has closed a deal to acquire the music publishing rights from the film music library of Millennium Media. MMM will co-publish the catalog with current co-owner and administrator Kobalt Music. The catalog deal follows a recent intensive round of acquisition activity by MMM. In addition to the purchases of a 50% stake in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners catalog and the acquisition of the STX Entertainment music library, MMM purchased the Atlantic Screen Music library.

Source: $200m-backed Multimedia Music acquires music library of Hollywood film company Millennium Media

The catalog includes works of the bands REO Speedwagon, KISS, and Cheap Trick. The Mojo catalog spans nine decades and comprises more than 30,000songs including 89 Billboard No.1 hits, adding what Concord says is “a remarkable selection of music” to its publishing portfolio of 800,000 songs. The company says that the deal “further highlights Concord’s continued strategic growth”.

Source: Concord acquires Mojo Music & Media’s catalog of more than 30,000 songs

After months of rumors, Katy Perry has sold her music rights to Litmus Music, the Carlyle-backed company co-founded by former Capitol Records president Dan McCarroll, for $225 million, the company announced Monday. The deal includes Perry’s stakes in master recordings and publishing rights for the five albums she released between 2008 and 2020.

Source: Katy Perry Sells Catalog Rights to Litmus Music for $225 Million

Wiedenfels said that the media company had been “hopeful” the strikes would be over by early September. They weren’t — so WBD issued the warning to investors that the strikes would lower its total earnings given that content releases would be “subdued” in Q3 and Q4.

Source: Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Says Company Wants to Resolve Strikes ASAP After Disclosing up to $500 Million Earnings Hit From Work Stoppages

UK-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) has today (September 14) issued its shareholders a proposal to sell 29 catalogs from its portfolio for USD $440 million to another Hipgnosis fund – the private, Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital (HSC). In an announcement to its investors this morning, Hipgnosis Songs Fund makes no bones about one of its primary motivations for selling the 29 catalogs to HSC: That it will act “as a catalyst for a re-rating of [HSF’s] share price”.

Source: Hipgnosis’ Blackstone fund set to spend $440m buying 29 catalogs from Hipgnosis’ UK-listed fund; competitors have 40 days to try and outbid its offer.

New York-based Round Hill Music LP has acquired Austin-based Rident Royalties, expanding its neighboring rights platform, Sound Hill, with the addition of 1,000 new clients. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a press release announcing the acquisition on Wednesday (September 13). Round Hill Music said its acquisition of Rident Royalties brings additional expertise, industry networks, technology and territorial reach to Sound Hill.

Source: Round Hill Music buys Austin-based Rident Royalties, adding 1,000 new clients to Sound Hill neighbouring rights platform

Alchemy Copyrights, LLC, trading as Concord, has agreed terms on a deal whereby it will acquire the entirety of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund (RHM) – the UK-listed fund operated by Round Hill Music. The deal values the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of RHM – which currently trades on the London Stock Exchange – at approximately USD $468.8 million, the two companies said in an announcement today.

Source: Concord set to buy Round Hill’s UK-listed royalty fund in a huge $468.8m deal

Almost a year into the boom ignited by the November launch of ChatGPT, some startups that epitomized the zeal for so-called generative AI are now navigating layoffs and reduced user interest. Investors are unsure whether the new crop of AI startups will be able to survive, especially as tech giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google solidify their dominance over the technology.

Source: AI Startup Buzz Is Facing a Reality Check

The SEC said the NFTs issued by Impact Theory were unlicensed securities. The company agreed to a cease-and-desist order, paid $6.1 million in penalties, and agreed to destroy all of the NFTs in question still in its control. Impact Theory will also eliminate any royalties that it might have received from sales of those NFTs on secondary markets.

Source: SEC takes first action against an NFT project as an unregistered security

Songwriters have been left wondering if, when BMI generates additional revenue in future, it will indeed“pass on higher amounts to its affiliate songwriters” or instead “keep the additional amounts for its own investors.” Nowhere was this concern better articulated than in a letter penned by multiple songwriter rights groups (namely: Black Music Action Coalition, Music Artists Coalition, Songwriters of North America, SAG-AFTRA, and the Artist Rights Alliance) earlier this month.

Source: If BMI is sold, could a cull of its huge songwriter membership be on the cards?