Business Frame Weekly – Spotify Parts Ways With CFO After Massive Layoffs/ Problems pile up for Elon Musk’s X

Spotify chief financial officer Paul Vogel will leave the company next year

2023 Was A Blowout for Concerts—Top Tours Bring in $9.17 Billion

The problems are beginning to pile up for Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In this newsletter:

• Spotify said chief financial officer Paul Vogel will leave the company next year
• 2023 Was A Blowout for Concerts—Top Tours Bring in $9.17 Billion, Up 46%
• The problems are beginning to pile up for Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
• MediaNet Partners Steers $20 Million Music Acquisition Rights Fund Into Latin Music
• Spotify Has Royalty Changes—IMPALA Has Serious Questions
• HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired over 45 music catalogs to date and owns a catalog of over 26,000 songs

December 12, 2023

Spotify said chief financial officer Paul Vogel will leave the company next year

Spotify said chief financial officer Paul Vogel will leave the company next year and that it has launched a search to find a replacement. Vogel’s last day at Spotify will be March 31, 2024. With Vogel exiting the company, Ben Kung, VP of financial planning and analysis, will “take on expanded responsibilities” to support the company’s realignment of its financial leadership team, Spotify said.

2023 Was A Blowout for Concerts—Top Tours Bring in $9.17 Billion, Up 46%

2023 was a massive year for live concerts, even if you look past the $1 billion+ generated by the Taylor Swift ‘Eras Tour.’ Here’s a quick breakdown. According to Pollstar data, the total grosses for the 2023 worldwide top tours was up 46% from 2022 numbers. The top 100 tours grossed $9.17 billion this year, up from $6.28 billion in 2022. The average gross per show is up 53% to $2.37 million per show, compared to just $1.54 million in 2022. It highlights just how much live entertainment has returned to form following the pandemic years.

The problems are beginning to pile up for Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The problems are beginning to pile up for Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The social media platform recently faced an exodus of advertisers after Musk appeared to endorse an antisemitic post on the platform. Musk’s response to the exodus seems to have done little to woo those advertisers back. In a Q&A at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit, he told the advertisers who had left the platform to “go f–k yourself,” specifically singling out Disney CEO Bob Iger. X’s tumultuous relationship with the business world isn’t limited to tensions with advertisers; the comany has also found itself in confrontations with music rightsholders who allege that the company hasn’t paid for the use of their music on its platform.

MediaNet Partners Steers $20 Million Music Acquisition Rights Fund Into Latin Music

Entertainment investment company MediaNet Partners makes a significant move into Latin music with a $20 million Music Acquisition Rights fund. Latin American-based entertainment investment company MediaNet Partners (MNP) announced the debut of the Music Acquisition Rights fund, a $20 million venture focused on acquiring and managing premier music assets within the Latin music industry. The fund has already secured the rights to an “extensive collection” of songs performed by artists including Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin.

Spotify Has Royalty Changes—IMPALA Has Serious Questions

Spotify is making changes to how it pays royalties—but that raises lots of questions for independent artists and musicians. The IMPALA executive board is asking them. The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) board is seeking answers to these questions after gathering views from members in 32 countries across the European music market. IMPALA thanks Spotify for its continuous engagement with the independent sector on streaming reforms since IMPALA launched its own streaming proposals.

HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired over 45 music catalogs to date and owns a catalog of over 26,000 songs

Founded in 2021, HarbourView Equity Partners has acquired over 45 music catalogs to date and owns a catalog of over 26,000 songs, encompassing both master recordings and publishing income streams. Now, the company, led by former Tempo Music CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares, has amended its senior secured credit facility, led by Fifth Third Bank, to buy more music rights. Under the amended facility, HarbourView’s credit facility capacity has been increased by $100 million to $300 million (from $200m). The firm says that it will use the additional funding to continue acquiring music royalty assets and for “general corporate purposes”.

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