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Spotify Takes on $1.3B in Debt
Exactly how Spotify intends to use the money is unclear. The press release broadly states the company intends to use the proceeds for “general corporate purposes” — a term loose enough to cover capital expenditures, marketing or strategic acquisitions. Such a large amount suggests Spotify doesn’t intend to use the money for everyday costs of running the company. Instead, $1.3 billion is enough to make numerous acquisitions to build out its podcasting business, for example, and have a cushion for any uncertainty its leadership foresees in 2021 and beyond. Spotify will reserve the right to redeem the notes in a variety of scenarios. Until March 20, 2024, Spotify has the option to redeem the notes with cash, shares or a combination of the two if the company’s share price “exceeds 130% o...
‘Love Story,’ ‘The Twist,’ ‘Unchained Melody’ & More Re-Recorded Hot 100 Hits
The original was released from Swift’s second LP, 2008’s Fearless. The new take is from her forthcoming re-recording of the album, Fearless (Taylor’s Version). (Re-recordings of older songs or albums are treated separately from their originals, with independent chart histories for each version.) “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” is the second single ever to top Hot Country Songs in separate forms, after Dolly Parton’s iconic “I Will Always Love You” led in 1974 and, in a second take, in 1982. On the Hot 100, Swift’s new entry is the latest to chart more than once as re-recorded in-studio by an artist that previously made it a hit. Here’s a look at 20 other memorable such singles, listed chronologically by their updated ve...
Strictly Discs in Wisconsin, in a Pandemic: ‘We Have Decided Not to Apply’ for Federal Assistance
Now that cases are going down, we’ve had a lot of states lifting restrictions, including in California. I’m wondering if you’ve seen any restrictions on retail establishments being lifted or relaxed at all? Nothing for retail, but there have been quite a few modifications of some of the gathering regulations, as well as some initial conversations about reopening schools. So there’s certainly some movement towards reopening, but nothing that specifically impacts us. Last time, we talked about government assistance, and you said you might qualify for something. Have you figured out what you might be eligible for at this point? We’re eligible to apply, [but] so far, we have decided not to apply because we don’t need it as much as others do. So for now, that...
Breaking Down BTS Label Big Hit’s 2020 Earnings
A new BTS album, Map of the Soul: 7, and four mini album releases by the group Seventeen from Big Hit’s investment in K-pop label Pledis in May, helped Big Hit sell 13.2 million albums. That’s up 54% from 2019, with $288.5 million of revenue — a 196% improvement. Eight tracks from Map of the Soul: 7, released last February, spent time on the Billboard Global 200 Chart in 2020, with BTS’ later singles “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” both reaching No. 1. In the U.S., Map of the Soul: 7 sold 674,000 units in 2020 while its tracks were streamed 715 million times, according to MRC Data. Normally, Big Hit’s holistic business model is well suited to the modern music business. But the pandemic killed touring, traditionally Big Hit’s largest revenue stream, and favored record companies that can...
Shawn Gee Partners With Twitch to Launch BlackStream Live
The goal of BlackStream is to “unite some of the most influential, impactful, and inspiring voices of today to craft provocative and entertaining content as projected through the lens of the modern Black experience, yet meaningful to multiple generations,” a statement announcing BlackStream reads. Through strategic alliances with tastemakers and programmers, Twitch has made significant investments in the music space. In August, the Amazon-owned company announced a partnership with the Rolling Loud festival for live hip-hop events on the platform and a month later Twitch announced a partnership with Relix magazine and its owner Peter Shapiro from (who also owns Brooklyn Bowl, Capitol Theatre and Lock’N fest) to launch a channel focused on jam bands. Twitch also has streami...
This New Video Streaming Service Wants to Be Your Go-To for Filmed Music Content
Spinello and his founding team, which also includes John McDermott and Janie Hendrix of Experience Hendrix, Yoko Ono and the John Lennon estate and entertainment lawyer Jonas Herbsman, are now looking to shake up the old paradigm with an all-access subscription model that uses the power and reach of the Amazon distribution network to bring legacy video content in music — much of it rare and some it never before seen — to a larger audience than ever before. Launching today in the U.S. and slated to roll out to the rest of the world over the next year, Coda Collection has buy-in from most of the major players in music: Content partners at launch include all three major labels (Sony Music is an equity partner in the new venture), Rhino Entertainment, Concord Music, Mercury Studios...
Country Radio Was Already Adapting to Streaming. Then Came COVID-19
Indeed, it’s likely that most businesses — and maybe even CRS — will continue to use the internet for at least some conferences after offices reopen. Panelists across the summit’s spectrum referenced numerous ways in which the industry should anticipate post-pandemic change. Artists will continue to sign new recording deals after establishing audiences through online platforms, as did Andrew Jannakos, who contributed to a panel focused specifically on TikTok. In fact, songwriters are likely to receive publishing deals in greater numbers through the platform — and it’s already happening, said TikTok head of music partnerships and content operations Corey Sheridan on the same panel. Country radio will see some bounce back, though maybe not to its pre-pandemic listening leve...
It’s a Growth Story: What’s Behind UMG’s Accelerated IPO Plans?
Vivendi could earn about 9 billion euros ($10.9 billion) from the IPO, if it maintains majority ownership by unloading just just under 30% of UMG at the same 30 billion euros ($36.3 billion) valuation used last year when it sold a 20% stake to a consortium led by Chinese tech giant Tencent Corp. At that head-turning 36-times EBTIDA valuation, a multiple often seen in fast-growing tech companies, Tencent “made people take a step back and look at the valuations of music companies,” says Michael Poster, the head of Michelman & Robinson’s corporate and securities department. That’s not an unreasonable valuation: a rapidly-growing streaming market, believed by Goldman Sachs to reach 1.15 billion subscribers...
The Players Behind The Weeknd’s ‘Save Your Tears’: See the Full Credits
Artists:Main Artist – The Weeknd Songwriters:Composer Lyricist – Abel “The Weeknd” TesfayeComposer Lyricist – Ahmad BalsheComposer Lyricist – Jason “DaHeala” QuennevilleComposer Lyricist – Karl Martin SandbergComposer Lyricist – Oscar Holter Producers:Producer – Max MartinProducer – Oscar HolterProducer – The Weeknd Production Team:Programming – Max MartinProgramming – Oscar HolterProgramming – The Weeknd Engineers:Asst. Recording Engineer – Cory BiceAsst. Recording Engineer – Jeremy Lertola Engineer – Michael IlbertEngineer – Sam HollandEngineer – Shin Kamiyama Mastering Engineer – Dave KutchMastering Engineer – Kevin Peterson Mix Engineer ...
Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings Targeted for Acquisition by Former TikTok CEO
Braun, the SB Ventures founder and manager to A-list artists including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, made headlines in June 2019 when Ithaca purchased Taylor Swift’s former record label Big Machine for a reported $300 million. That led Swift to speak out against the acquisition, claiming Braun had engaged in “incessant, manipulative bullying” of her over a period of several years. Last November, Ithaca sold Swift’s master recordings to Shamrock Holdings, again drawing the pop star’s ire. Swift has since begun the process of re-recording her first six albums, with the first of them, Fearless, set to drop Apr. 9. In addition to Big Machine, Ithaca’s music holdings include Schoolboy Records and the Universal Music Publishing Group co-venture Sheba Publishing. You Deserve to Mak...
Vivendi Planning to Move Forward With UMG IPO This Year
The idea is to avoid the so-called “conglomerate discount,” under which a company could be valued by the market as less than the sum of its parts — especially by investors looking for more direct exposure to the music sector at a time when streaming is fueling growth and optimism. “This plan is the result of the joint efforts in recent years by the Vivendi and the Universal Music Group, under the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge, to further the company’s position as the music industry’s undisputed leader,” Vivendi said in a letter about the move that was shared internally at Universal by Grainge, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Recently the successful opening of UMG’s share capital to an international consortium led by Tencent has confirmed its attractiveness with strategic investor...
MSG Entertainment Revenue Down 94%, But Things Are Looking Up
Although MSGE’s share price fell as much as 6.5% to $94.01 on Friday, investors have faith in live entertainment: Closing at $97.02, MSGE has lost little value since it spun off from MSG’s sports division at $100 on April 9, 2020. Its shares were trading below $70 as recently as Nov. 2 — the beneficiary of a bull market as well as positive news about vaccination rollouts. MSGE’s $1.45 billion of liquidity on Dec. 31 was helped by a debt sale of $650 million in November and $20.6 million raised from the sale of some its stake in fantasy sports platform DraftKings.com. Its operational cash burn was just $64 million in the quarter and $107 million went to capital expenditures, mainly the construction of its next-generation venue, the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, that is planned to open in 2...
