Analysis If BMI is sold, could a cull of its huge songwriter membership be on the cards? Will BMI's new private equity owners be able to challenge the restrictive Consent Decrees that goven how the org operates?
News From Universal Music and YouTube’s AI partnership to BMI’s equity sale… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up Five of the biggest headlines on MBW this week...
News European concert and ticketing firm CTS EVENTIM generated €1bn in the first six months of 2023 Revenue haul marked the first time the company generated in excess of €1 billion within a six-month period
News Word Collections secures $5m in funding from investors led by Metallica’s Black Squirrel Partners Funds will be used to accelerate Word Collections’ global direct licensing business
News Anthony Abner named Global General Counsel at BMG Abner joined BMG in 2018 as Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs
News NetEase Cloud Music’s paid monthly users grew 11% to 41.8m at the end of June China-based music streaming provider has published its H1 earnings results
News Vietnam’s VNG Corp, owner of music streaming service Zing MP3, files for IPO in the US VNG is Vietnam's first unicorn
News YouTube is testing a search feature that lets you hum to identify songs YouTube has initiated trials of a new song search feature on the Android version of its app
Analysis Songwriters are worried about BMI’s private equity sale – and if it will hurt their royalties. What happens now? MBW has heard rumors from senior music biz figures that BMI has explored talks with a number of potential backers/suitors, with the latest name on the lips of the business being New Mountain Capital
News So there’s an interesting link between Morrison Hotel Gallery and the team that built Concord… The Concord connection here is strong...
News Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square stays bullish on Universal Music Group, even vs. AI: ‘The long tail of AI-generated content will likely never be heard and will not displace legitimate artists’ work.’ Pershing effectively laughs in the face of concerns raised by analysts earlier this year over AI's threat to UMG
News Alliance Entertainment says that its K-Pop sales jumped 55% to $32m in the 12 months to end of July Company listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market in February after completing a SPAC merger with Adara Acquisition
News Reservoir and PopArabia expand presence in MENA with two new acquisitions in Egypt Deals include catalog acquisition of content production and distribution company RE Media, and the catalog of Egyptian rap duo El Sawareekh
News $100m-backed Asia-focused music fund blackx launches operations in Japan, led by Hiroki Shirasuka Company also expands presence Greater China and Singapore with a string of senior industry hires
News YG Entertainment teams with metaverse studio Karta to launch virtual BLACKPINK experience in Roblox Metaverse studio Karta built the BLACKPINK experience on Roblox
News TikTok rival Triller’s user numbers questioned by app analytics company (report) Report arrives as platform prepares for initial public offering in New York
News DICE raises $65m from investors including Matt Pincus, Willard Ahdritz and more MUSIC CEO Matt Pincus will also join the DICE Board of Directors
News Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India launch 91 NORTH RECORDS joint venture Artist and producer Ikky named as Creative Director for the JV