News Spotify is chasing annual profitability. SoundCloud’s already there. Company's revenues projected to be up 9% YoY in 2023
News Universal Music Group is worth more than $50 billion, as firm’s share price hits highest point in 2 years Universal's market cap is currently around $12 billion higher than Spotify's
News On Tuesday, Paul Vogel, CFO of Spotify, cashed $9.3m in shares – 24 hours after his company confirmed 1,500 layoffs. Tonight, Daniel Ek has announced Vogel is out. News comes three days after Spotify announced worldwide layoffs affecting 17% of its workforce
Interviews Michelle Jubelirer on Ice Spice, The Beatles, and reinventing Capitol Music Group: ‘I don’t think any label group has been able to turn things around as quickly as my team and I have done in less than two years.’ Jubelirer tells MBW all about her first two years in charge at CMG – and how she's overcome the challenge of quelling, and then re-energizing, one of the most iconic label brands in existence
Interviews ‘Latin artists have been paving the way for deals that offer more control, transparency, and better economics.’ Alejandra Olea, Believe's MD, Americas is interview in MBW's World Leaders series following huge success with Iñigo Quintero
Analysis Spotify has laid off 2,300 employees this year. That’s a shock – but also kind of inevitable. On: Promises made at Investor Days, Christmas Walks, and Daniel Ek's long-term aim for his shareholders
Interviews Please, don’t call it distribution. JT Myers and Nat Pastor on their plans for Virgin Music Group, competing with The Orchard, and their disdain for the D-word
Analysis Sony Music’s artists aren’t involved in YouTube’s new voice-cloning AI experiment. Not unrelated: Google’s recent filing with the US Copyright Office. MBW Explains: On 'fair use', Sony Music, YouTube's AI experimentation and the US Copyright Office
Analysis The modern record industry is moving into its ‘cut to grow’ phase. On layoffs at Warner Music Group and BMG, and an upcoming cost savings program at Universal Music Group
News Another suitor wants BMI – and has put a $2bn+ proposal on the table MBW sources tell us that a SPAC has made a significant proposition to BMI management
News Warner Music Group has signed up for Deezer’s ‘artist-centric’ royalties model in France News follow's Deezer's announcement of the new model with Universal Music Group in September
News Hipgnosis Song Management appoints Daniel Pounder as CFO, Jonathan Baker as General Counsel HSM currently services two clients: the Blackstone-backed private fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital, and the UK-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund
Analysis News Sony generated $2.33bn from recorded music and publishing in calendar Q3, up 8.3% YoY Travis Scott's Utopia was Sony Music's biggest revenue-generating project globally in calendar Q3
News Hipgnosis Songs Fund names Rob Naylor as new Chairman, Francis Keeling as non-executive director Former Round Hill board members jump over to Hipgnosis Songs Fund amid continuation turbulence
Analysis News Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) attracted 1,329% more streams than the original version of 1989 in the US last week What impact will 1989 (Taylor's Version) have on the weekly streams of the original version of the album in future weeks?