Finance

AudioShake — a startup that uses AI to deconstruct music tracks into stems that can be used for remixes, sampling and other applications — has announced it’s just raised USD $2.7 million in a seed round. That takes its total fund-raising to date over $5 million, the company said. Among the investors in the round are Black Squirrel Partners, a growth equity and content investing firm founded by Metallica, alongside Q Prime, Eric Wasserman, Paul Donahue and others.

Source: AI music startup AudioShake raises $2.7M in seed round with backing from Crush Music, peermusic… and Metallica

For the Directors Guild of America, the primary focus is getting a better deal on international streaming residuals. AMPTP president Carol Lombardini has already made an offer to the writers on that issue, which could form a starting point for talks with the DGA. A DGA deal could then be applied to SAG-AFTRA, which begins its negotiations on June 7, potentially increasing the AMPTP’s leverage with writers.

Source: DGA Talks Open Second Front in Labor Battle; Directors to Focus on Streaming Gains

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl, in remarks to analysts during a morning earnings call, said music publishing had shown continued momentum, but recorded music revenue fell short of expectations. “We underperformed in recorded music. There’s plenty of room for improvement,” Kyncl said. Kyncl said AI tools could be properly harnessed to transform the music industry, even as it faces a challenge from AI-generated music content and increasing competition from indie music labels.

Source: Warner Music CEO On AI: “Framing It Only as a Threat Is Inaccurate”

As screenwriters continue their strike against Hollywood companies, the two sides remain a galaxy apart, portending a potentially long and destructive standoff. “Any hope that this would be fast has faded,” said Tara Kole, a founding partner of JSSK, an entertainment law firm that counts Emma Stone, Adam McKay and Halle Berry as clients. “I hate to say it, but it’s going to be a while.”

Source: ‘It’s Going to Be a While’: No End in Sight for Hollywood Strike

Despite analysts expecting a problematic fiscal quarter, tech giant Apple beat expectations in the March 2023 quarter with a revenue of $94.8 billion. While that number is down 3 percent year over year, Apple’s services segment — including Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade, among others — reported revenue of $20.9 billion in the quarter, a new record.

Source: Apple Services Reach Record Quarterly Revenues of $20.9 Billion

Eight-year-old Sound Ventures, which counts as partners actor Ashton Kutcher, former iHeartMedia exec Effie Epstein, and Maverick Management founder Guy Oseary, just recently detailed its nearly quarter-billion-dollar foray into AI. Moving forward, the firm intends to back “category-defining artificial intelligence businesses,” according to higher-ups, who also emphasized their vision for the technology’s significant long-term role in entertainment and beyond.

Source: Sound Ventures Announces ‘Oversubscribed’ $240 Million AI Fund

In a lengthy document, the guild spelled out its proposal for a TV staffing minimum, which would range from six to 12 writers per show, based on the number of episodes. That proposal is a non-starter for the studios, which declined to make a counter-offer. The guild also wants a guaranteed minimum number of weeks of employment per season, ranging from 10 weeks to 52 weeks.

Source: WGA Spells Out Vast Differences That Led to Strike

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended contract talks with the Writers Guild of America on Monday night, hours before the contract expiration deadline. The WGA  responded by calling for a strike to begin on Tuesday. The AMPTP cast the WGA as refusing to compromise on key issues and for “the magnitude” of its asks at the bargaining table.

Source: WGA Calls for Strike to Begin Tuesday, Slams Studios for Creating ‘Gig Economy’ That Aims to Turn Writing into ‘Entirely Freelance’ Profession

Masterworks, the “elite alternative asset” that allowed investors to buy fractional shares of high-end paintings, scrapped a funding round amid concerns it could face regulatory scrutiny in the coming months, a source familiar with Masterworks’ thinking told On The Money. The company was valued at $1 billion in its Series A funding in October 2021, but faced an uphill battle to raise more money as the economy slows.

Source: Masterworks’ fractional art sales getting the brush off

Although Epidemic Sound has been making waves for years, it’s been a slow road to profitability for the Sweden-based music production house. That story seems finally to be turning around, as the company announced on Tuesday (April 25) that it swung to a positive EBITDA – albeit a small one – last year. However, the company’s operating profit (EBIT) was still in the red.

Source: With 2bn plays on YouTube per day, Epidemic Sound swung to positive EBITDA in 2022