Acquisitions
Blake Shelton Sells Master Recordings Ownership to Influence Media Partners
Country hitmaker Blake Shelton has sold the ownership of his commercially-released master recordings from 2001-2019 to Influence Media Partners, the company announced Tuesday (Oct. 4). Over his career, Shelton has enjoyed 72 Hot Country Songs entries, including 14 No. 1s and 33 top 10s; 58 Country Airplay entries, including 28 No. 1s (3rd-most all-time) and 36 top 10s; two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200; and seven No. 1 albums on Top Country Albums. The catalog sale includes tracks like “Boys ‘Round Here,” “Honeybee,” “Nobody But You” (with Gwen Stefani), “God’s Country” and “Austin,” among others. Additionally, Shelton will team up with Influence Media for a joint venture that will serve to promote his music while still allowing him to earn a share of the profit generated fro...
Utopia Music Buys Leading UK Physical Distributor Cinram Novum
LONDON — Swiss-based tech company Utopia Music is making further inroads into the record business with the acquisition of U.K. physical distributor Cinram Novum, which provides warehouse, fulfillment and distribution services to a number of labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and PIAS. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which was done through Utopia’s U.K. subsidiary Utopia Distribution Services Limited. The acquisition marks a significant expansion of the company’s fast-growing music distribution business. In January, Utopia acquired Proper Music Group, the U.K.’s leading independent physical music distributor, which provides distribution services for 1,000-plus indie labels and service companies and counts Rough Trade, HMV and supermarkets Tesco, Mo...
Songtradr Acquires AI Metadata & Music Search Company Musicube
B2B music company Songtradr has acquired Musicube, an AI metadata and music search company that helps match music to content and a brand’s target audience. Using neural networks and proprietary AI, Musicube’s software is delivered via web widgets and an API that offers metadata at scale for labels, publishers, music supervisors and more. It also allows customers to search for tracks, playlists and artists based on audiences, moods, genres, vocal features, instruments and tempo. With the acquisition, Songtradr expands its portfolio of tech-enabled music solutions, which also include music technology and data companies Tunefind and Pretzel, both of which the company purchased last year, and Jaxsta, which Songtradr invested in back in 2020. “Musicube has approached audio analysis from an enti...
Cumulus Media Rejects $1.2B Acquisition Bid by Jeff Warshaw-Led Consortium
Cumulus Media has rejected an unsolicited $1.2 billion bid to buy the company and instead is offering shareholders a $50 million stock repurchase program, according to a letter to shareholders the company filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission in conjunction with its first-quarter financial results. In that letter from Cumulus Media president/CEO Mary Berner, the company said that its board of directors, along with financial and legal advisors, have concluded that the $15-$17 a share bid “significantly undervalues the company and is not in the best interest of it shareholders.” While the letter doesn’t reveal the identity of the bidder, Reuters, which initially broke the news about the bid on April 14, identified the suitor as a consortium of investors led by veteran radio indu...
Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard in $68.7B Video Game Mega-Deal
Tech giant Microsoft will buy the video game publisher Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal that would reshape the gaming landscape. The deal, if completed, would bring together Microsoft, which owns the Xbox game platform and Xbox Game Studios (which owns Bethesda Softworks and 343 Industries, among other game publishers) and Activision, owner of the Call of Duty, Warcraft and Tony Hawk franchises, among others. Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, when and if the deal closes. The deal is the largest in Microsoft’s history, with the companies targeting a close in 2023. “We need more innovation and investment in content creation, and fewer constraints on distribution,” Microsoft CE...
WhatsApp delays data sharing change after backlash
WhatsApp on Friday postponed a data-sharing change as users concerned about privacy fled the Facebook-owned messaging service and flocked to rivals Telegram and Signal. The smartphone app, a huge hit across the world, cancelled its February 8 deadline for accepting an update to its terms concerning sharing data with Facebook, saying it would use the pause to clear up misinformation around privacy and security. “We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update,” WhatsApp said in a blog post. “This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.” It said it would instead “go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15.” The update concerns how merchants using WhatsApp to cha...
