Business Frame Weekly – Apple Posts Record Services Revenue / Universal Music Group threatens to pull song catalog from TikTok

Apple Posts Record Services Revenue

Universal Music Group‘s dispute with TikTok continues

Megan Thee Stallion to retain masters and publishing ownership in Warner Music Group deal

In this newsletter:

• Megan Thee Stallion to retain masters and publishing ownership in Warner Music Group deal
• Apple Posts Record Services Revenue of $23.1 Billion for Q4 2023 As Subscriptions Achieve ‘Strong Double-Digit Growth’
• Universal Music Group‘s dispute with TikTok continues to be the talk of Grammy Week.
• Acquisitive music company Primary Wave has struck a partnership with Brazil’s Nas Nuvens Catalog (NNC)
• Universal Music Group threatens to pull song catalog from TikTok in furious open letter
• UBS Raises Spotify Stock (NYSE: SPOT) Rating and Target Price As Daniel Ek Pledges Consistent Profitability

February 06, 2024

Megan Thee Stallion to retain masters and publishing ownership in Warner Music Group deal

Megan Thee Stallion and Warner Music Group have signed a deal that will enable the artist to maintain her independence as a musician while also having access to the major’s global services, ranging from radio promotion to marketing worldwide. Through the unique structure of the agreement, Megan Thee Stallion will have distribution and resources with Warner Music, while she has full ownership of her masters and publishing. In this agreement, the Grammy-winning artist will release music through Hot Girl Productions – her independent music and entertainment entity – and simultaneously work with Warner Music and its international affiliates. Additionally, Megan Thee Stallion has full creative control of her music releases along with the option to bring artists that are signed to her imprint into the WMG ecosystem. “This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter of my life and career,” Megan The Stallion said. “I’m really focused on building an empire and growing as an entrepreneur, so I’m proud to take this next step in my journey and work with Max Lousada and the entire Warner Music Group team in this new capacity. I know we’re going to create history together.”

Apple Posts Record Services Revenue of $23.1 Billion for Q4 2023 As Subscriptions Achieve ‘Strong Double-Digit Growth’

Apple has reported nearly $120 billion in revenue – including a record $23.12 billion from services such as Apple Music – for the 13 weeks ended December 30th. The Cupertino-based company disclosed these and other figures as part of a newly released earnings report for its fiscal first quarter. Having ended just before December’s conclusion, as mentioned, the stretch delivered, on top of the noted $23.12 billion in services revenue, $96.46 billion from the sale of iPhones and different Apple devices.

Universal Music Group‘s dispute with TikTok – primarily over the amount of money the video service pays for music licensing – continues to be the talk of Grammy Week. Now multiple other significant music companies are throwing their weight behind UMG’s mission.

Universal Music Group‘s dispute with TikTok – primarily over the amount of money the video service pays for music licensing – continues to be the talk of Grammy Week. Now multiple other significant music companies are throwing their weight behind UMG’s mission. Yesterday (February 1), Primary Wave publicly backed Universal’s position, which has seen UMG decline to agree terms with TikTok over a new licensing agreement. As a result, recordings represented by UMG have already started to become unavailable in TikTok’s pre-cleared music library. (Universal’s music publishing library – which spans to approximately 4 million songs – is expected to become fully unlicensed on TikTok at the end of February, due to a 30-day grace period in UMPG’s agreement with the platform.)

Acquisitive music company Primary Wave has struck a partnership with Brazil’s Nas Nuvens Catalog (NNC) – a company that itself was modeled on Primary Wave.

Acquisitive music company Primary Wave has struck a partnership with Brazil’s Nas Nuvens Catalog (NNC) – a company that itself was modeled on Primary Wave. According to Bloomberg, Primary Wave has acquired a 50% stake in NNC, valuing the Sao Paulo-headquartered company at around USD $100 million. Formed in 2021 through a partnership between private equity fund Starboard Partners and Brazilian musician and producer Liminha, the company set out to emulate Primary Wave’s model in the Brazilian market – namely, acquiring partial stakes in the works of iconic artists.

Universal Music Group threatens to pull song catalog from TikTok in furious open letter

Universal Music Group’s agreement with TikTok is set to expire in the next 24 hours after the companies failed to agree on issues including artist compensation and AI, meaning some of the world’s most popular music – including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and newly viral hit Murder on the Dancefloor – will be removed from TikTok’s library. In a blistering open letter titled “Why we must call Time Out on TikTok” published on Tuesday, UMG, the biggest music company in the world, accused TikTok of attempting to “bully” and “intimidate” them into “accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth”. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is a social media app that allows users to make short-form videos, the majority of which are soundtracked with sound effects and licensed music.

UBS Raises Spotify Stock (NYSE: SPOT) Rating and Target Price As Daniel Ek Pledges Consistent Profitability

Citing anticipated gross margin improvement and continued user growth for Spotify, UBS has upgraded both its rating and target price for the music streaming company’s stock. The Zürich-headquartered investment bank’s latest SPOT rating and target price just recently entered the media spotlight in brief reports from market-focused outlets. And while Spotify stock was worth $215.35 per share when trading wrapped today, down slightly from opening, Tuesday brought a 52-week high of an even $224 for SPOT.

Random Ramblings

• TikTok UMG music takedowns have begun and will happen in 3 phases
• The key to Booking Better Gigs is… APPLES
• Is Threads dead? No, say 130 million active users
• New Apple royalties favor Majors at the expense of independent artists, say indie labels
• Music Piracy Is Back in a Big Way—Especially From YouTube YouTube