Business Frame Weekly – SoundCloud is set to be put up for sale/ Spotify’s New Royalty Model Has Arrived

Warner Music and Red Light Management Announce Strategic Alliance in Japan

SoundCloud is set to be put up for sale later this year

Spotify’s New Royalty Model Has Arrived

In this newsletter:

• Warner Music and Red Light Management Announce Strategic Alliance in Japan
• Spotify’s New Royalty Model Has Arrived
• SoundCloud is set to be put up for sale later this year
• VMG, Universal Music Group‘s global indie artist and label services division, has just confirmed that it is acquiring Saban Music Latin.
• Universal Music Group has confirmed a new multi-year licensing agreement with Tencent Music Entertainment (TME).
• UK recorded music market saw 179.6 billion audio streams of music in 2023

January 09, 2024

Warner Music and Red Light Management Announce Strategic Alliance in Japan

Warner Music signs a strategic artist-focused partnership with Red Light Management in Japan, with their first joint project to promote Ghostly Kisses in the country. Warner Music has signed a strategic partnership with the world’s largest independent management company, Red Light Management, designed to help promote the latter’s artists in Japan, the second biggest music market in the world. Warner Music Japan’s International Marketing and ADA divisions will work with Red Light to build a marketing and label channel for the company’s artists.

Spotify’s New Royalty Model Has Arrived

Jeff Price — founder and former CEO of TuneCore and Audiam and current founder and CEO of Word Collections — takes an in-depth look at Spotify’s updated royalty payout structure and the financial impact it could have on labels, artists, and DIY distributors like CD Baby, Distrokid, and Tunecore in 2024. It’s an eye-opening calculation, to say the least. For a comprehensive breakdown of what Spotify’s new payout model means for major and indie labels, music distributors, artists, and the broader music industry, check out our recent DMN Pro Weekly report. The exhaustive breakdown explores the ins and outs of the streaming platform’s 2024 compensation changes. That includes a detailed look at the legal and contractual frameworks involved, which parties will benefit the most, and the potential long-term impact on the music ecosystem.

SoundCloud is set to be put up for sale later this year

SoundCloud is set to be put up for sale later this year, with its owners potentially seeking a price-tag in excess of USD $1 billion. That’s according to a report from Sky News today (January 7), which says it’s learned that two of SoundCloud’s shareholders – Raine Group and Temasek Holdings – have started interviewing investment banks regarding a “prospective auction of the company”. One source told Sky that they didn’t expect the sale process to get underway for a number of months.

VMG, Universal Music Group‘s global indie artist and label services division, has just confirmed that it is acquiring Saban Music Latin.

“There’s plenty of room to grow in Latin America and we’ve made great progress. We like our prospects there.” The words of JT Myers, co-CEO of Virgin Music Group (VMG) in an interview with MBW published shortly before the end of 2023. Today (January 4), as 2024 rubs the sleep from its eyes, we receive some news that indicates just how keen Myers and his co-CEO at VMG, Nat Pastor, are on Latin music and its artists. VMG, Universal Music Group‘s global indie artist and label services division, has just confirmed that it is acquiring Saban Music Latin.

Universal Music Group has confirmed a new multi-year licensing agreement with Tencent Music Entertainment (TME).

Universal Music Group has kicked off 2024 with a big deal announcement: The world’s largest music rightsholder has confirmed a new multi-year licensing agreement with Tencent Music Entertainment (TME). Under the contract, TME will continue to have access to UMG’s music catalog for QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and WeSing. The expansive partnership includes music streaming in Dolby Atmos and high-definition (HD) formats.

UK recorded music market saw 179.6 billion audio streams of music in 2023

The UK recorded music market saw 179.6 billion audio streams of music in 2023, according to new British Phonographic Industry (BPI) data. That was up by approximately 12.8% YoY, said the trade body today (January 3). The BPI has previously confirmed that there were 159.3 billion audio streams in the UK in 2022. The 179.6 billion audio streams seen in 2023 were also roughly double the size of the equivalent figure from five years before (90.9 billion, in 2018).

Random Ramblings

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