This week, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Universal Music Group in a deal worth approximately $64 billion — with Ackman telling investors he expects “overwhelming shareholder support”, while JP Morgan analysts expressed skepticism that key stakeholder Bolloré would back the transaction.
Meanwhile, Udio signed a licensing agreement with Kobalt, marking the AI music platform’s fourth major deal since settling copyright litigation with UMG in October 2025 — and its latest step in its transformation from courtroom defendant to licensed service provider.
Elsewhere, Wireless Festival was canceled after the UK government blocked headliner Ye (Kanye West) from entering Britain, ruling that his presence would not be conducive to the public good — prompting promoter Festival Republic to confirm that refunds will be issued to all ticket holders.
Also in the past seven days: UMG and Believe settled the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Paris-headquartered company and its distribution platform TuneCore in late 2024, with all claims dismissed with prejudice.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past week…
1. BILL ACKMAN CONFIDENT HE’LL WIN OVER UMG SHAREHOLDERS TO $64 BILLION BID, SAYS BOLLORÉ RESPONSE WAS ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’
Bill Ackman told investors on Tuesday (April 7) that he expects “overwhelming shareholder support” for Pershing Square’s $64 billion takeover proposal for Universal Music Group.
The deal — a cash-and-shares offer — would see UMG shareholders receive EUR €9.4 billion in cash, plus 0.77 shares of a newly created company for each share held.
Ackman said that his first call before launching the bid was to the Bolloré Group, UMG’s largest single shareholder, and that the initial response was encouraging.
However, not everyone shares Ackman’s confidence. In a research note circulated on Tuesday, JP Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven said he would “be surprised” if Bolloré supported the deal, arguing there is nothing in Pershing’s proposal that UMG could not do itself with the backing of its major shareholders and board… (MBW)
2. AFTER UNIVERSAL, WARNER, AND MERLIN DEALS, NOW UDIO INKS LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH KOBALT
Udio has signed a licensing agreement with independent music publisher Kobalt, adding to a growing roster of industry partners as the AI platform continues its transformation from copyright defendant to licensed service provider.
The deal, announced on Thursday (April 9), will see Udio’s forthcoming subscription platform trained on authorized and licensed music from Kobalt’s catalog, with participating creators credited and paid for remixes, covers, and new songs made using their voices and compositions.
The agreement marks Udio’s fourth significant licensing deal since it settled copyright infringement litigation with UMG in October 2025. That settlement was followed by a similar agreement with Warner Music Group in November 2025, and a licensing deal with Merlin in January 2026… (MBW)
3. SECRETLY DISTRIBUTION ACQUIRES MUSIC DATA AND ANALYTICS FIRMS ENTERTAINMENT INTELLIGENCE AND BABEL OPS
Secretly Distribution has acquired Babel Ops, the technology company behind music data and analytics platform Entertainment Intelligence (Ei).
The deal, announced on Wednesday (April 8), brings both companies under the ownership of the independent distributor, which says Babel Ops will continue to serve its existing client base of independent labels and music businesses.
Secretly Distribution CEO Darius Van Arman framed the acquisition in the context of growing consolidation in major label-land, pointing to the majors’ recent acquisitions of digital supply chain companies like FUGA and Revelator, as well as Bill Ackman’s $64 billion bid for UMG… (MBW)
4. WIRELESS FESTIVAL CANCELED AFTER UK GOVERNMENT BLOCKS KANYE WEST FROM ENTERING BRITAIN
London’s Wireless Festival has been canceled after the UK government denied headliner Ye (Kanye West) permission to enter the country, with the Home Office ruling that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.
The move followed a wave of political condemnation over the announcement that West had been booked as the sole headliner for all three nights of the festival, scheduled for Finsbury Park from July 10-12.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the booking “deeply concerning” in view of West’s previous antisemitic remarks, while at least three sponsors — including headline partner Pepsi, drinks giant Diageo, and Rockstar Energy — had withdrawn from the festival… (MBW)
5. UMG AND BELIEVE SETTLE LAWSUIT THAT ALLEGED ‘INDUSTRIAL-SCALE’ COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OF UNIVERSAL’S MUSIC
Universal Music Group and Believe have settled the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Paris-headquartered music company and its distribution platform TuneCore in late 2024.
UMG had filed a complaint against Believe and TuneCore on November 4, 2024, seeking damages of at least $500 million. At the heart of the case was a sweeping allegation that Believe had built its business through what UMG described as “industrial-scale copyright infringement,” focusing heavily on the distribution of so-called “manipulated” audio — sped-up or remixed versions of copyrighted recordings uploaded to streaming platforms… (MBW)
