Interviews Concord turned down a $5bn+ acquisition offer. It explains why – and where it’s going next. Concord CEO, Scott Pascucci, and President, Bob Valentine, map out an "aggressive" next five years for the US company
Analysis News YouTube says it paid the music industry over $6bn in the past year – with around $2bn coming from UGC Right now, YouTube and Spotify appear to be keeping pace with one another
News From Kobalt’s sale, to Sony Music’s Russian exit: It’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up The biggest music biz news stories of the week, all in one place
News The Kobalt sale: 3 takeaways from the music industry’s biggest story of the moment Willard Ahdritz and Laurent Hubert on the future for Kobalt... under new ownership
News Kobalt Music Group sold to US-based private equity firm Francisco Partners FP will own 90% of Kobalt, say MBW sources, with a minority stake taken by Matt Pincus' new vehicle
News UK-based 3tone Music Group raises $50m from Carlton James Group Bristol, UK-headquartered 3tone offers digital distribution for independent artists to multiple streaming platforms, making it a rival to the likes of TuneCore
Analysis News Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square: Universal Music Group can grow by 10%+ every year ‘for more than a decade’ Report from Pershing Square makes bullish observation on UMG's future
News Firebird takes flight, acquiring a stake in Red Light Management – with more deals on the way Nat Zilkha and Nathan Hubbard are the co-founders of acquisitive, Raine-backed venture, say MBW sources
News Can you feel the love tonight? Spotify and fellow music streamers strike agreement with publishers for 15.35% go-forward royalty rate in the US. NMPA, DiMA and songwriter group NSAI send joint proposal to CRB – and avoid a costly legal war
News Concord is at the bidding table for Pink Floyd’s catalog bundle (which doesn’t include music publishing rights) US-based company is back on the acquisition trail after buying Native Tongue and HitCo
Analysis News Utopia is raising €300 million in a Series C round that would value its company at €2.5bn. But what’s it building? A deep dive into one of the most intriguing companies operating around and within the modern music business
Analysis News Triller, which has raised $300m to date, is being sued by Sony Music for non-payment of ‘millions of dollars’ Triller just raised more funds, pushed back its IPO (again)... and has been hit by a major lawsuit by SME
Analysis News Robert Kyncl is leaving YouTube. Expect the ‘is THIS the new CEO of Warner Music Group?’ rumor mill to gather pace. Kyncl was once very close to music business dealings as Chief Business Officer at the platform
News Uncategorized Blockchain music platform Opulous launches fund to buy copyrights The project – or Opulous Royalty Vault – operates via a new set of tokens called OVAULT.
Analysis News The US music publishing industry generated $4.7bn last year – but the record industry grew twice as fast The music publishing industry grew annual revenues by around $700m in the States last year; the record industry jumped up by $1.8 billion