Analysis TikTok vs. Universal Music Group: The Cremation of Once-Cuddlesome Relations Surveying the landscape of a battle between music's biggest rightsholder and ByteDance's video juggernaut
News Intergalactic Fantastic Worldwide’s James Fava joins Three Six Zero as Partner Fava joins Three Six Zero while retaining his leadership role at Intergalactic Fantastic Worldwide
News TikTok has ALREADY started removing Universal’s music publishing catalog from its platform This Friday (March 1), TikTok's current license for the Universal Music Publishing Group catalog – spanning some 4 million songs – officially expires
News Sony Music settles copyright dispute with rock musicians including New York Dolls’ David Johansen Details of the settlement were not revealed, in a case that has been ongoing since 2019
News Live Nation among backers of new 12,000-seat, $100m arena in Lagos The $100-million development comes amid a boom in the popularity of West African music
Analysis News TikTok: UMG’s catalog, including publishing, only makes up ‘approximately 30% of popular music on our platform’ It's a surprising claim from the ByteDance company...
Analysis News Live Nation is ‘surprised and thrilled’ its all-in ticket pricing is a success… and 3 other things we learned on the company’s latest earnings call In 2023, stadium shows led Live Nation’s attendance growth, with more than 29 million fans attending stadium shows, an increase of 60% YoY
News Sales from K-Pop stars including Jungkook and Seventeen pushed HYBE’s revenues to over $1.6bn in 2023 South Korea-based entertainment giant HYBE has published its earnings for Q4 and FY 2023
News Miley Cyrus’ Flowers was the biggest-selling single globally last year, according to the IFPI Flowers by Miley Cyrus is the winner of the IFPI Global Single Award for 2023
News Robert Kyncl highlights Warner Music Group’s ‘big ambitions’ for MENA, as WMG signs India-based star Nora Fatehi Fatehi will remain signed to T-Series, the Indian music label and movie studio, for her Bollywood projects.
News Songwriters and publishers to receive nearly $400m payout after streaming royalty ruling in the US The MLC calculates that streaming giants like Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube, underpaid songwriters and publishers by $419.2 million in 2021-2022
News Audacy secures court approval to emerge from bankruptcy with Soros Fund as top shareholder The second-largest radio broadcaster in the US is working to drastically reduce a $1.9 billion debt
News Universal Music Group buys majority stake in Afrobeats label Mavin TPG has fully exited the business, while Kupanda Capital will a remain minority investor and strategic adviser
News Bauer Media Audio UK names Robert D’Ovidio as Director (Music) Broadcast, On-Demand and Premium D’Ovidio will oversee music content at the company’s radio brands, including Absolute Radio, KISS, Magic Radio, Hits Radio, and Greatest Hits Radio
Analysis News From Universal’s stake in Chord Music to Live Nation’s biggest year ever… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days…
News Over 145m fans attended 50,000+ Live Nation events in 2023, with company’s FY revenues up 36% YoY to $22.7bn in its ‘biggest year ever’ Concert giant publishes its Q4 and FY 2023 financial results
News TikTok’s Global Head of Music Operations, Paul Hourican, exits The London-based exec joined the business in November 2019 as Head of Music Operations, UK & EU
Analysis News Reservoir has spent nearly $1B on acquisitions and signings, and 5 other things we learned from its latest investor factsheet Reservoir Media has clocked yet another year of strong growth, with revenues up 14.6% YoY in calendar year 2023