This week, a US federal jury found Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally monopolized the US ticketing and amphitheater markets, handing a landmark antitrust victory to a coalition of 33 states and the District of Columbia.
Meanwhile, Warner Music Group forged a partnership with – and made a minority investment in – TuStreams, a distribution platform focused on Música Mexicana and the wider Latin music scene.
Elsewhere, Max Lousada and Julie Greenwald took the wraps off 26.2, their new venture, launched in a strategic partnership with Sony Music.
Also this week, K-pop’s ‘Big Four’ — HYBE, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment — moved to establish a joint venture that will launch a global music festival, dubbed Fanomenon, intended to rival Coachella.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…
1. LIVE NATION AND TICKETMASTER LOSE ANTITRUST TRIAL: WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT IT MEANS, AND WHAT COMES NEXT
A federal jury on Wednesday (April 15) found that Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster illegally monopolized the US ticketing and amphitheater markets.
The result handed a victory to the coalition of 33 states and the District of Columbia that pressed the landmark antitrust case to trial after the concert giant reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice.
The jury found in favor of the states on every claim after a five-week trial in Manhattan federal court, and determined that consumers had been overcharged on tickets.
The verdict now sets the stage for a remedy phase that could result in significant changes to how the live entertainment industry operates.
Here’s what happened, how we got here, and what comes next… (MBW)
2. WARNER MAKES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN TUSTREAMS – A DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM FOCUSED ON LATIN MUSIC
Warner Music Group has entered into what it calls a “landmark” partnership with TuStreams, a distribution platform focused on Latin music.
WMG describes TuStreams as “a leading independent force in the fast-growing Música Mexicana space”.
Warner has also made a minority investment in the company.
As part of the agreement, Warner Music Group will serve as the global distribution partner for TuStreams’ full catalog and future releases. According to a press release issued on Monday (April 13), the partnership “brings together TuStreams’ entrepreneurial vision with WMG’s global infrastructure, unlocking new levels of scale, visibility, and opportunity across international markets”… (MBW)
3. MAX LOUSADA AND JULIE GREENWALD ARE IN BUSINESS. WELCOME TO 26.2 — IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SONY MUSIC
Max Lousada has ordered a Campari and soda; Julie Greenwald, a Paloma. Colorful drinks for colorful personalities — fizzing with energy over what’s coming next.
What’s coming next… is precisely why MBW is here, chewing on a chopped salad at Soho Mews House, West London, and listening to Lousada and Greenwald lay out the blueprint for 26.2 – their new venture, launched in a strategic partnership with Sony Music.
26.2 is a record label – and proudly so. Not a distributor, not a joint venture, and not a services platform… (MBW)
4. AS K-POP CONCERT REVENUES RISE, HYBE, SM ENTERTAINMENT, JYP, AND YG PLOT MUSIC FESTIVAL JOINT VENTURE
K-pop giants HYBE, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are preparing to establish a joint venture to launch a ‘global’ music festival.
According to an exclusive report from South Korean outlet Business Post on Thursday (April 16), the four companies, which collectively represent K-pop’s so-called ‘Big Four’, recently submitted a business combination report to South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) as part of the JV formation process.
The filing is a regulatory requirement given that HYBE qualifies as a large corporate group with assets above KRW 5 trillion (approximately $3.4 billion), and SM Entertainment is an affiliate of the Kakao conglomerate.
An FTC official told Business Post that the regulator could not confirm individual filings, but noted that review timelines vary depending on the specifics of each case.
The venture comes as live music becomes an increasingly important revenue stream for K-pop’s biggest companies… (MBW)
5. BTS LABEL BIGHIT MUSIC ASKS US COURT TO UNMASK X USER WHO LEAKED ‘ARIRANG’ BEFORE RELEASE
HYBE’s BigHit Music has asked a federal judge in California to authorize a subpoena on X Corp. to reveal the identity of an anonymous user who allegedly leaked BTS’s latest album ARIRANG before its March 20 release.
BigHit is the South Korean label behind BTS and a wholly owned subsidiary of entertainment giant HYBE.
The label filed an ex parte application on April 9 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, bringing the petition under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, a statute that allows a foreign litigant to extract evidence from a US entity if the evidence is for use in a foreign proceeding.
BTS broke records across major streaming platforms when the K-pop act dropped ARIRANG. The record pulled in over 110 million streams on Spotify in its first 24 hours, breaking the record for the most-streamed K-pop album in Spotify history and the most-streamed album in a single day this year, Spotify announced on social media… (MBW)
