Analysis News From Universal’s TikTok deal to Blackstone’s bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days…
News Concord Label Group hires former UMG execs Brad Clark and Kristen Reed to its data analysis teams This is the second round of senior hires at Concord Label Group just this week
News Korean regulators approve Kakao’s takeover of SM Entertainment, amid ongoing stock price manipulation probe Kakao's music streaming service Melon will be monitored for signs of anti-competitive practices
News HYBE’s revenue dropped 12% YoY in Q1; Weverse platform saw user decline amid ongoing BTS drought Although it’s common for HYBE’s earnings to decline in the winter months of Q1, the size of this drop surprised analysts
News UK lawmakers call for AI legislation to protect artists from deepfakes, copyright infringement "Our central insight must always be that AI can be a great servant but would be a terrible master"
Analysis News Anghami’s paid subscribers jumped 18% in Q1 2024, after a 2023 of revenue ‘headwinds’ The MENA-focused streaming service expects a revenue boost following its merger with TV and film streamer OSN+
Analysis News Warner Music Group boss Robert Kyncl backs US Senate bill to crack down on AI deepfakes Kyncl to give testimony to a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Commitee on Tuesday (April 30)
News FKA Twigs voices support for NO FAKES Act in prepared remarks ahead of Senate hearing; says that she’s developed an AI version of herself that can ‘speak many languages’ Artist to give testimony on Tuesday (April 30) in front of a US Senate subcommittee looking into a proposed new bill to regulate AI deepfakes
Analysis News A shaman, a management coup, a tearful press conference and a $770m market cap dip: What the heck is going on at HYBE? Disputes between record companies and their executives have happened before, but this one takes the cake for weirdness
Analysis News From the bidding war for Hipgnosis Songs Fund to ByteDance’s battle for TikTok in the US… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days…
News Billie Eilish and Green Day among 250+ artists backing US Senate bill to reform ticketing industry The bill would require disclosure of a ticket's final sales price before purchase, and strengthen enforcement of laws against ticket-buying bots
Analysis News Epidemic Sound has courted controversy over its ‘buy-out deals’. Here’s exactly how the company pays artists… MBW Explains is a series of analytical features in which we explore the context behind major music industry talking points
News Luminate reaches music sales data collection deal with indie record stores The new arrangement defuses a controversy over how Luminate collects data on physical music sales at indie stores
Analysis News A new ‘music-only’ subscription tier is coming to Spotify, confirms Daniel Ek… and 4 other things we learned on the company’s latest earnings call Spotify is making good on its aim to become more than a music streaming service
News As President Biden signs law that could ban TikTok, the app’s CEO says: ‘We aren’t going anywhere’ Shou Zi Chew says TikTok will fight the law in court, and the platform will be available in the US in the meantime