Business Frame Weekly – Warner Chappell Music France Signs Admin Publishing Deal with Lofi Records / Sony Music Reportedly Acquires 50% Michael Jackson Catalog Stake

Warner Chappell Music France Signs Admin Publishing Deal with Lofi Records

Sony Music Reportedly Acquires 50% Michael Jackson Catalog Stake

Warner Music Group had an impressive final three months of calendar 2023

In this newsletter:

• Warner Chappell Music France Signs Admin Publishing Deal with Lofi Records
• SongTools Secures $3 Million to Redefine Music Marketing
• Sony Music Reportedly Acquires 50% Michael Jackson Catalog Stake At a Staggering $1.2 Billion Valuation
• BMI Acquisition Officially Signed and Sealed — With a Promised $100 Million Doled Out to Songwriters, Composers, and Publishers
• Warner Music Group had an impressive final three months of calendar 2023
• PPL Announces Record $350 Million+ in 2023 Distributions, Foresees ‘A Huge Opportunity Ahead to Grow Our Market Share’

February 13, 2024

Warner Chappell Music France Signs Admin Publishing Deal with Lofi Records

Warner Chappell Music France has announced it has signed a publishing administration deal with Lofi Records. It’s the record label and publishing arm of the YouTube channel, Lofi Girl. Lofi Girl is a 24/7 livestream of lofi hip-hop beats ‘to relax/study to’—the first ever music livestream on YouTube. The channel launched in 2017 and promotes relaxing instrumental music called lofi hip-hop. The image of Lofi girl with her orange cat has connected millions across the globe.

SongTools Secures $3 Million to Redefine Music Marketing

SongTools has announced it has secured a $3 million funding round for its next steps in the evolution of digital music marketing. SongTools is a web platform that enables artists and labels to expand their audience on streaming platforms (like Apple Music & Spotify) by providing one-click advertising solutions. This capital raise propels the NY-based startup and establishes it as a key player in a field where over 120,000 new songs are released per day. SongTools says its aim is to make music promotion more accessible for both artists and labels.

Sony Music Reportedly Acquires 50% Michael Jackson Catalog Stake At a Staggering $1.2 Billion Valuation

One year ago, reports suggested that the Michael Jackson estate was looking to sell half the singer-songwriter’s catalog for upwards of $900 million. Now, according to new reports yet, Sony Music has acquired this 50 percent interest for north of $600 million. Outlets including Variety shed light upon the possible deal between the Michael Jackson estate and Sony Music, neither of which had commented publicly on the subject at the time of this writing. Predictably, given the massive price tag and the $1.2 billion overall valuation for the body of work, the play is said to cover the “Thriller” creator’s recorded and publishing rights alike.

BMI Acquisition Officially Signed and Sealed — With a Promised $100 Million Doled Out to Songwriters, Composers, and Publishers.

New Mountain Capital officially announces its acquisition of BMI, with $100 million of the sale’s proceeds going to stakeholder iHeartMedia. Investment firm New Mountain Capital has announced the completion of its acquisition of Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), one of the world’s largest performing rights organization.

Warner Music Group had an impressive final three months of calendar 2023

Warner Music Group had an impressive final three months of calendar 2023, it revealed today (February 7) – with quarterly global revenues across the company increasing by 10.6% YoY on a normalized, constant currency basis to USD $1.748 billion. MBW will dig deeper into WMG’s financial performance tomorrow… because, right now, there’s a bigger story unfolding. In a memo to staff sent in the past few hours, WMG’s CEO, Robert Kyncl, has confirmed that his company will be reducing its headcount by approximately 10%, resulting in layoffs for around 600 employees.

PPL Announces Record $350 Million+ in 2023 Distributions, Foresees ‘A Huge Opportunity Ahead to Grow Our Market Share’

The UK’s Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) has announced record-high distributions of over $350 million for 2023. PPL unveiled the payout milestone, specifically totaling £279.6 million (currently $352.87 million), via a formal release today. According to the 90-year-old collective management organization (CMO), which deals in royalties for the use of recordings in public establishments and broadcasts (radio, TV, etc.), that sum represents a 14.3 percent boost from 2022.

Random Ramblings

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• The brightest minds behind the biggest hits.