Business Frame Weekly – Seeker Music has acquired the publishing catalog of Plested/ The King of Dembow has signed a “multi-million-dollar, eight-figure deal” with financial services firm Sound Royalties.

Seeker Music has acquired the publishing catalog of British recording artist and songwriter Phil Plested, or Plested.

Dominican rapper El Alfa, known as “The King of Dembow” has signed what is described in a press release as a “multi-million-dollar, eight-figure deal” with Florida-headquartered financial services firm Sound Royalties.

U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warner Chappell Music vs. Nealy — And Potentially Resolve Statute of Limitations Concerns Surrounding Copyright Infringement

In this newsletter:

• Seeker Music has acquired the publishing catalog of British recording artist and songwriter Phil Plested, or Plested.
• Dominican rapper El Alfa, known as “The King of Dembow” has signed what is described in a press release as a “multi-million-dollar, eight-figure deal” with Florida-headquartered financial services firm Sound Royalties.
• U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warner Chappell Music vs. Nealy — And Potentially Resolve Statute of Limitations Concerns Surrounding Copyright Infringement
• Top Investment Firm Says Spotify’s ‘Darkest Days Are Ahead’ — ‘Competition Is Fierce, Margins Thin’
• First-half revenues for Latin music grew by 14.8% in the US
• Twitter flight helped Mastodon grow to 1.8m active users in 2022

October 03, 2023

Seeker Music has acquired the publishing catalog of British recording artist and songwriter Phil Plested, or Plested.

Plested’s songwriting catalog includes some of the biggest pop songs of today, such as Lewis Capaldi’s Before You Go, Marshmello and Jonas Brothers’ hit single Leave Before You Love Me, Little Mix’s Touch, Lose Somebody by Kygo and OneRepublic, and a number of other hits with Niall Horan, The Chainsmokers, Anne-Marie, James Arthur, and more. The songwriter is among the finalists in the Songwriter of the Year category at next month’s UK-focused A&R Awards in London.

Dominican rapper El Alfa, known as “The King of Dembow” has signed what is described in a press release as a “multi-million-dollar, eight-figure deal” with Florida-headquartered financial services firm Sound Royalties.

Over the weekend, citing confirmation from El Alfa’s team, Complex reported that the deal was worth $70 million.Established in 2014, Sound Royalties provides royalty financing for music creators, independent labels, publishers, and distributors. The firm offers royalty advances of anywhere from $5,000 to tens of millions. It does this by advancing artist, producer and songwriter royalties paid through music labels, distributors, publishers and PROs such as BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, SoundExchange and more.

U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warner Chappell Music vs. Nealy — And Potentially Resolve Statute of Limitations Concerns Surrounding Copyright Infringement

The case involves Miami music producer Sherman Nealy who sued Warner Music’s label Atlantic Records. Hip-hop artist Flo Rida interpolated musical elements of the 1984 song, “Jam the Box” by Tony Butler into his 2008 song, “In the Ayer.”Nealy argues that his Miami record label Music Specialist owns the rights to the 1980s work and sued Atlantic Records, Flo Rida’s label, and Warner Chappell Music and Artist Publishing Group. Nealy argued in that 2018 suit that both businesses received invalid licenses to use his label’s music while he was in prison on cocaine distribution charges.

Top Investment Firm Says Spotify’s ‘Darkest Days Are Ahead’ — ‘Competition Is Fierce, Margins Thin’

Monness, Crespi, and Hardt analysts told investors that the sharp SPOT rally in 2023 may bring plenty of uncertainty for the rest of the year. “Spotify’s stock has enjoyed a strong rebound this year, racking up a gain more than double the average increase for our coverage universe in 2023—rising 95%,” the investment firm explained.“Given this strong outperformance and our mounting concerns surrounding the potential collateral damage from this downturn, we are stepping to the sidelines on Spotify.”

First-half revenues for Latin music grew by 14.8% in the US

One of the trends in recent years has been the fact that however fast recorded-music revenues grew in the US, Latin recorded music revenues grew faster. The first half of 2023 was no exception. While overall revenues grew by 9.3% there, revenues for Latin music increased by 14.8% according to labels body the RIAA. That means $627m of Latin recorded music revenues in the US in the first six months of 2023, up from $547.4m the previous year. The figures showed 16% growth for streaming revenues as part of this. At $615.5m, streaming now accounts for a whopping 98.2% of the money made by Latin recorded music in the US. That compares to streaming’s 84% share of the overall market.

Twitter flight helped Mastodon grow to 1.8m active users in 2022

Mastodon is one of the Twitter-alternatives that has been growing rapidly since Elon Musk took over the latter company – even if it’s still small compared to the social network now known as ‘X’. Mastodon’s latest annual report quantifies its growth in 2022, noting that it was unexpected. “Up until the end of October, it was actually a rather quiet year for Mastodon, with a major focus on mobile app experience and onboarding,” wrote CEO Eugen Rochko in his introduction. “As it turned out, it came just in time. As our major competitor was set aflame by its new leadership, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Mastodon, searching up the apps on major app stores and getting set up for the first time.”

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