News Reservoir could be going public via SPAC with $700m+ valuation Bloomberg reports that a public merger could be on the cards for acquisitive music rights company
Interviews News As Round Hill’s market share of US hits climbs, company tells music biz: Don’t call us a check-book publisher Josh Gruss walks MBW through the surprising news that a catalog acquisition company keeps cropping up on hit radio market share charts
Analysis Why we believe streaming subscription ARPU fell by around 8% globally for the record industry last year MBW runs the numbers from the IFPI's must-read new Global Music Report covering 2020
News A new catalog acquisition juggernaut is born, as BMG and KKR strike deal to jointly buy music copyrights New acquisition heavyweight formed; MBW understands both parties will co-invest in rights
News Indie labels call for end to streaming ‘payola’ – as IMPALA unveils 10-point plan to reform sector In new report, trade body makes a number of key suggestions for change
News Warner and Tencent Music to launch a joint record label, as they ink multi-year licensing deal Deal means Tencent is launching JV labels with Warner and Universal in China
Analysis Artists have a 0.2% chance of generating $50k a year on Spotify. Let’s kick this stat around. Spotify's new website has started a debate. The world of soccer might provide some answers.
News Hipgnosis buys catalog of Nobody Does It Better writer Carole Bayer Sager, likely for around $10m MBW's uncomfirmed estimate suggests deal would have cost somewhere around $9m to $10m
News How many artists are generating $50k+ a year on Spotify? Over 13,000. New Loud & Clear site sees Spotify pull back the curtain on the truth about streaming economics
News Hotly-tipped UK artist Holly Humberstone signs with Polydor, Interscope, and Darkroom Records Artist makes jump from Platoon to trio of Universal-affiliated labels
News Another nine-figure music industry acquisition is coming… and it’s Brazilian MBW understands that Som Livre is attracting interest at a $250m-plus valuation
Analysis News Hipgnosis reveals how it values songs (and that its catalog is worth slightly more than it originally forecast) New disclosures show that Hipgnosis' assets were earning 0.4% more than company predicted they would when it acquired them
News NFTs for copyrights: Why non-fungible tokens could transform who gets paid from music rights, and how Ditto Music's Bluebox project is selling partial ownership of two copyrights wrapped up into NFTs this week
Analysis News The global recorded music industry grew by $1.5bn in 2020, despite the pandemic (report) New Midia report unveils estimates of industry growth in 2020
News Epidemic Sound valued at $1.4bn as Blackstone joins $450m investment round in Swedish company Controversial Swedish music company achieves the $1bn-plus valuation it was looking for