Spotify’s once-heady stock has now tumbled below its opening price in 2018, with potentially further downward pressure ahead. In Wednesday (February 23rd) trading, Spotify stock (SPOT) dropped below its symbolic $147.92 valuation, established on the company’s first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The drop means that Spotify stock has lost an astounding $16.57 billion in market cap in 2022 alone.
Finance
BlackRock, Warner Music Invest $750 Million in Female and Diverse Artists
Source: WSJ News Exclusive | BlackRock, Warner Music Invest $750 Million in Female and Diverse Artists
Netflix to Invest $45M in French, European Films in Deal That Could Pave Return to Cannes
Netflix has reached a deal with the French cinema guilds that will see the streaming giant invest at least €40 million ($45 million) in at least 10 French and European films over the next three years, all of which will get theatrical releases in France. The deal, unveiled Tuesday, marks the first agreement of its kind in France with a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service.
Source: Netflix to Invest $45M in French, European Films in Deal That Could Pave Return to Cannes
Spotify Buys Podcast Analytics Firms Podsights and Chartable
Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. The addition of Podsights and Chartable will help make the audio-streaming giant a more attractive partner for advertisers and publishers to do business with, according to Dawn Ostroff, Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer. “We believe we’re still in the early chapters of digital audio and the opportunity for advertising in this space remains significant,” Ostroff said in a statement.
Source: Spotify Buys Podcast Analytics Firms Podsights and Chartable
Round Hill’s UK fund has acquired 5,600 songs since July, paying an average multiple of 17.9x
Last July, Round Hill’s publicly-traded UK fund raised USD $86.5 million in C share placing, exceeding its minimum target of a $50 million raise. Round Hill’s share issue saw it place 86.5 million C shares in Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited (RHM) at $1.00 per share. On Friday, the firm revealed that the net proceeds of that C Share issue have now been fully invested and will be converted into Ordinary Shares.
Source: Round Hill’s UK fund has acquired 5,600 songs since July, paying an average multiple of 17.9x
Disney Crushes Wall Street Expectations, Disney+ Soars to Nearly 130M Subs
The Walt Disney Co. beat Wall Street expectations in its latest quarterly earnings report. The company reported revenue of $21.8 billion and net income of $1.1 billion, with earnings per share of $1.06. Wall Street expectations were for revenue of $18.78 billion and EPS of $0.58.
Source: Disney Crushes Wall Street Expectations, Disney+ Soars to Nearly 130M Subs
Disney to Boost Content Spending by Up to $1 Billion This Quarter
For the current quarter, the company plans to up its spending on direct-to-consumer programming by between $800 million and $1 billion versus the comparable fiscal 2021 quarter, CFO Christine McCarthy said during Disney’s fiscal Q1 2022 earnings call Wednesday. On the linear network side, content spend is expected to go up by approximately $500 million.
Source: Disney to Boost Content Spending by Up to $1 Billion This Quarter
Sony Music’s $430m buyout of AWAL provisionally cleared by UK competition watchdog
Today (February 11), the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed its provisional decision over Sony‘s $430 million buyout of AWAL – and it’s given the deal the green light. The approval concludes a months-long investigation into SME’s acquisition of AWAL from Kobalt Music Group in early 2021.
Source: Sony Music’s $430m buyout of AWAL provisionally cleared by UK competition watchdog
Nas and Lil Baby-backed metaverse firm Everyrealm closes $60m funding round led by Andreesen Horowitz
Virtual real estate is big business, and it’s getting more and more attention from the music industry. Today (February 10), we learn of yet another metaverse firm closing a significant funding round, and it’s attracted investment from a few superstar artists, too. That company is Everyrealm (rebranded from Republic Realm), which describes itself as “one of the most active investors in and developers of the metaverse ecosystem”.
Music funding platform beatBread raises $34m
The independent artist sector is growing fast, and an increasing number of firms are giving artists access to capital in the form of advances. One such company is music funding platform beatBread, which has just completed a $34 million seed round led by Fintech-focused venture capital firm, Deciens Capital.