Analysis The modern record industry is moving into its ‘cut to grow’ phase. On layoffs at Warner Music Group and BMG, and an upcoming cost savings program at Universal Music Group
Analysis WMG’s Robert Kyncl expects more artist-centric streaming deals, and 2 other things we learned on the company’s latest earnings call Warner Music Group's CEO weighed in on YouTube's new AI tool that clones superstars' voices, and said he's talking to politicians about AI regulation.
Analysis Live Nation’s Michael Rapino lays out the argument for why concerts – not streaming – are the future of the music biz Rapino spoke at length at Liberty Media's investor conference in New York last week, breaking down the economics of his company's field
Analysis Talking ‘garbage’: How can Spotify and co sort the dregs of the music business from the hidden treasures? On Sir Lucian Grainge's bluntness, Believe's rebellion, and why a careful balance is required to find a true 'artist-centric' formula
Analysis News Four things we learned from Sir Lucian Grainge on Universal’s Q3 earnings call… that wasn’t ‘Merchants of Garbage’ From Deezer to AI and China, UMG's leadership team discussed a number of key topics for the business
Analysis Hipgnosis Songs Fund has been left concussed by ‘discontinuation’. But with a seemingly rock solid ‘call option’, Merck Mercuriadis still holds all the cards. On: Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the all important 'call option', Blackstone, and the most likely outcome of this week's mess
Analysis Blatant Plagiarism? 5 key takeaways from Universal’s lyrics lawsuit against AI unicorn Anthropic Lawsuit against AI company could prove to be a decisive moment in establishing the legal boundaries of artificial intelligence
Analysis 3 observations on… how Japan’s music industry caters to (and relies on) ‘superfans’ more than any other market Examples of how Japan's music business has fostered a special kind of connection with superfans in its market
Analysis News The strategic reason HYBE’s Chairman wants to retire in 10 years, and 2 other things we learned from Bang Si-Hyuk’s recent interview Bang Si-hyuk explained the logic behind HYBE's US expansion, the differences between the US and Korean music industries, and his retirement, in recent chat with Bloomberg
Analysis 5 observations on… Epic Games’ sale of Bandcamp to Songtradr Here are five observations about what the deal means for Songtradr, Bandcamp, and other players in the music industry
Analysis Warner Music Group boss Robert Kyncl on AI, why labels still exist, and 2 other things we learned from his Q&A at the Code Conference Kyncl spoke during a Q&A session at the Code Conference in Laguna Niguel, California, this week
Analysis Universal and Deezer’s ‘artist-centric’ model isn’t shocking. It emulates tech’s most successful titans. Yes, we're talking about it again. Why? Not enough people have connected the dots to Silicon Valley.
Analysis News Concord is ready to pay $468.8m to buy Round Hill’s UK fund. How did it reach that price? MBW gets out its calculator to pore over Citrin Cooperman's numbers
Analysis News On… Deezer nuzzling up to Universal’s ‘artist-centric’ model, a potential mass deletion, and a controversial tweak (update) It's been a big day in the music business – and it's raised a lot of possibilities...