Announced today (February 10), UMPG says that it has struck an “historic, comprehensive worldwide agreement for the catalog of one of the most commercially successful and critically-acclaimed songwriters of the last half-century”. The catalog features the entirety of both Sting’s solo works, as well as those with The Police.
Finance
Consumer Spend On Streaming Up 20%, All Other Home Entertainment Down Last Year
While time-spent streaming may have lost some momentum last year as pandemic lockdowns lifted, consumer spending on streaming video nevertheless jumped 20%, to $25.3 billion, last year, according to estimates from DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.
Source: Digital News Daily: Consumer Spend On Streaming Up 20%, All Other Home Entertainment Down Last Year
AT&T, Discovery Gain U.S. Clearance for WarnerMedia Deal
AT&T and Discovery have gained clearance for their much-anticipated deal to spin off WarnerMedia so it can merge with Discovery, a deal that has already been approved in Europe. The approval of Discovery shareholders is the last barrier to the deal moving forward.
Source: AT&T, Discovery Gain U.S. Clearance for WarnerMedia Deal
Spotify Stock Has Lost 50% of Its Value In the Past Year
Spotify stock has lost an astounding 50% of its value over the past year alone, a dip of more than $32 billion in market cap. The exact reasons are difficult to pinpoint, though both internal and external headwinds are broadly driving the plunge. Since November, SPOT has been dropping precipitously, with broader economic concerns and anticipated rate hikes by the Federal Reserve dragging Spotify into the red.
Source: Spotify Stock Has Lost 50% of Its Value In the Past Year
Disney+ Subscription Growth Has Slumped After a Pandemic Surge
Source: Disney+ Subscription Growth Has Slumped After a Pandemic Surge. Investors Watch for a Bounce Back.
Warner Music Group generated nearly $1bn from streaming last quarter
WMG says that the quarter included an additional week, primarily reflected in its recorded music streaming revenue. Additionally, according to WMG, the quarter included the impact of a new deal with an unnamed digital partner, which it says, impacted its Recorded Music streaming revenue. Adjusted for the benefit of the additional week and the impact of the new deal with WMG’s unnamed digital partner, Recorded Music revenue was up 15.9% (or 17.4% in constant currency).
Source: Warner Music Group generated nearly $1bn from streaming last quarter
KKR bought a music catalog from Kobalt for $1.1bn. Now it’s turning it into bonds.
In the second half of October, KKR – via its new Chord Music venture – acquired a large portfolio of rights from Kobalt for $1.1 billion. Now, KKR Credit Advisors is using a catalog of 65,000 songs – including hits from The Weeknd, Stevie Nicks, and Childish Gambino – to sell more than $732 million of asset-backed securities supported by publishing and sound recording royalties.
Source: KKR bought a music catalog from Kobalt for $1.1bn. Now it’s turning it into bonds.
There’s a serious new player in music catalog acquisitions – and it’s just bought Robbie Robertson’s rights
Olivier Chastan knows this world well: He was previously CEO at Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, which last year acquired catalogs from the likes of the Beach Boys, David Crosby, and Linda Ronstadt. Today (February 4), Chastan has taken the wraps off his own acquisitive vehicle – Los Angeles-based Iconoclast – with a headline-grabbing rights deal already signed and sealed.
Amazon to Raise Price of Prime Membership, Citing Expanded Entertainment Offerings
As part of its fourth-quarter earnings report, Amazon announced that it would raise the price of Amazon Prime memberships for the first time in 4 years, citing investment in the company’s entertainment offerings, and its exclusive deal with the NFL to stream Thursday Night Football beginning next season, as among the reasons for the price hike.
Source: Amazon to Raise Price of Prime Membership, Citing Expanded Entertainment Offerings
Spotify added 3m new creators to its platform last year… and 4 other things we learned from the firm’s Q4 earnings call.
As expected, one of the main topics on the minds of analysts tuning into Spotify’s Q4 earnings call was the firm’s ongoing Joe Rogan debacle. Daniel Ek was asked about the situation right out of the gate on the earnings call, and specifically whether Spotify’s response so far is a “slippery slope in censoring content on the platform”.