Publishing
Beatles Royalties & Family Conflicts: We Read UMG’s 300-Page Prospectus. Here’s What We Found
In order to become a publicly traded, stand-alone company, Vivendi had to do an internal reorganization in 2020 to align the parameters of what would become Universal Music Group. As part of that, some of the liabilities directly assumed by Vivendi had to be transferred to UMG for the latter company to have control of all the music assets. It also had to assume the obligations and liabilities that came with them. One such Vivendi obligation that UMG had to take on was to provide security for royalty payments capped at $100 million euros to the Beatles, Yoko Ono and certain Apple entities. But that’s not surprising considering that the ownership of EMI, acquired in 2012, was directly under Vivendi, not UMG, so they had to do some internal asset a...
Better Be Good To Me: Tina Turner Sells Her Music Catalog To BMG Music
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Raymond Boyd / Getty One of music’s most iconic voices has struck a deal to ensure her work will indeed be forever. Tina Turner has announced she has sold her catalog to BMG. As spotted on WHBL the singer has partnered with the German based media company for the rights to all projects. On Wednesday, October 6 the move was confirmed via a formal press release. Tina Turner said, “Like any artist, the protection of my life’s work, my musical inheritance, is something personal. I am confident that with BMG and Warner Music my work is in professional and reliable hands.” The deal means BMG will be a partner in all of Tina Turner’s music interests. The transaction includes Tina Turner’s artist’s share of her recordings, her music publishing writer’s share,...
Joss Favela Inks Worldwide Co-Publishing Deal With Warner Chappell Music
The 30-year-old Regional Mexican star, who has penned over 100 songs for artists such as Alejandro Fernandez, Banda MS, and Natti Natasha, made history at the 2016 Premio ASCAP as the youngest person ever to win songwriter of the year. He nabbed the title in 2017 and 2018. On the Billboard charts, Favela has entered Hot Latin Songs, Latin Airplay, Top Latin Albums, Regional Mexican Albums, and Regional Mexican Airplay, where he has five top 10’s. “When my love for music started I never thought that I’d get to spend my life writing songs,” he said. “I’m continuously surprised by the beautiful things that happen to me, and joining the Warner Chappell family is one of them. I’m grateful for the songs that life has given me, but I’m even more grateful for the ones ...
Kobalt Music Names Jeannette Perez as President and COO
Based in Los Angeles, Perez joined the company from Sony Music in February 2014, where she served as VP, music for brands & advertising/licensing and, before that, as senior director, soundtracks, film & TV music at RCA. “Over the past couple of years,” comments Hubert, “Jeannette has played a key part in Kobalt’s success. From creating one of the best synch teams in the business to advancing key DEI initiatives at Kobalt, she is an integral part of the company. I am excited to work in close partnership with her and to achieve new milestones for our clients.” Perez has racked up awards during her time with Kobalt, including recognition in Billboard’s Women in Music (2020, 2019), Billboard Branding Power Player (2019, 2018), Billboard International Power Play...
Canada’s Kilometre Music Group Closes Catalog Deals Encompassing Drake, Dua Lipa Hits
Across the deals, Kilometre says it acquired underlying copyrights and royalty streams associated with all the songs, but it did not purchase master recordings or revenues from masters. The company declined to reveal purchase prices. According to calculations by Kilometre, the fund now co-owns 10% of the 100 most-streamed songs on Spotify of all time, and 7% of Spotify’s “Billions Club” – songs with one billion streams or more. The Kilometre deals, along with recent acquisitions by Dutch music management company Pythagoras Music Fund, are the latest purchases of publishing catalogs worldwide by investor-backed song funds like London-based Hipgnosis Song Funds as well as the publishing arms of major labels Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. In recent mon...
Billy Corgan Renews Publishing Deal With Warner Chappell
By the release of 1995’s Billboard 200-topping Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness — the group’s third and most successful album — The Smashing Pumpkins had cemented themselves as genre-defining hitmakers. In 2012, the now-classic double album — released on Virgin Records, as well as the previous two — officially reached RIAA diamond status after selling over 10 million copies. Since the peak of their success in the mid-1990s, the group has continued with a revolving door of members, held in orbit by Corgan’s steadfast leadership and vision. Aside from a five-year hiatus from 2000-2005, The Smashing Pumpkins continued to tour and record, releasing a slew of albums and EPs in the wake of Mellon Collie‘s release...
Twitch & Music Publishers Nearing Licensing Deal
Amazon-owned Twitch has operated under the DMCA for years without backlash, but ever since the pandemic turned the music industry’s attention to Twitch for livestreaming concerts, spurring huge growth for the platform, music trade organizations like the NMPA and RIAA have accused Twitch of taking advantage of the DMCA to avoid paying for music — similar to the way the organizations have pressured TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to sign licensing deals in the past. So the two organizations have flooded Twitch with tens of thousands of takedown requests over the past year, forcing Twitch to the negotiation table by frustrating its users. In response, Twitch vp/head of music Tracy Chan has reiterated that Twitch does not tolerate copyright infringement, arguing that Twitch’s monetiza...
BMI’s Revenue Keeps Growing, Despite Pandemic Setbacks
Although digital licensing peaked over the year, media and general licensing were dampened, in part by pandemic concerns, with general taking the greatest hit. Since fiscal 2019, which raked in an all-time high of $169 million in general licensing, revenue from general, public spaces like bars, restaurants, shops and concert venues — has dropped by 25%, and amounted to just $127 million in the past year. Meanwhile media licensing, which accounts for cable and satellite television and radio, decreased by 11% from last year to a total of $472 million. This is the first time in recent years that media has taken a dip and may be indicative of a major upcoming downturn for traditional TV and radio. In 2020, the category made $527 million in revenue for BMI, up by 3% from the previous year...
The Deals: Primary Wave Acquires Gin Blossoms Catalog; WMG Licenses to Kuaishou
Warner Music Group has signed a licensing deal with China-based short-form video platform Kuaishou. Under the agreement, WMG will make its artists’ music available on all of Kuaishou’s overseas products, including the apps Kwai and SnackVideo. According to a release, Kuaishou boasts over one billion users worldwide, a milestone it hit in June. Outside of China, it has more than 180 million active users in territories including Latin America and MENA (Kwai) and South and Southeast Asia (SnackVideo). The platform encourages its “global community to share their activities, habits, and more with the core mission to ‘embrace all lifestyles.’” Oana Ruxandra, chief digital officer & executive vp of business development at WMG, said, “We’re excited to bring our diverse music ...
Why This Is the Right Time to Sell Your Catalog (Guest Column)
For recording artists earning meaningful royalties from catalogs in which they have full or part ownership — who are considering selling before changes to the tax law — the question of whether to proceed might feel like a double-edged sword. Yet, we crunched the numbers and the answers are both straightforward and convincing. Of course, recording artists like Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Paul Simon are selling their catalogs now for many reasons: Some are making unique deals that guarantee their music will remain in print with their longtime labels or will be managed by knowledgeable industry insiders. Others are working to simplify their estate. But regardless of motivation, the artists who have already sold their works have been well advised that the combination of low interes...
Watch Offset Ring New York Stock Exchange Opening Bell to Celebrate Reservoir Media IPO
“This morning, Reservoir rang the @Nasdaq Opening Bell in celebration of our recent IPO. It is both exciting and humbling to take this next step in Reservoir’s journey,” the company wrote on Twitter while sharing photos from the ceremony. “We look forward to all the opportunities this creates, as we deepen our commitment to #investinginentertainment. Reservoir Media signed Offset and Takeoff to global publishing deals back in 2017, which represent their individual and collective catalogs. Reservoir Media’s EVP of A&R and Catalog Development Faith Newman was responsible for bringing the rappers to the roster. The company experienced its first day of trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on July 29, when its shares took a 4.9% dip after opening...
Broke Alone: R. Kelly Can’t Find Buyer To Purchase His Music Publishing Catalog
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Cook County Department of Corrections / Cook County Department of Corrections R. Kelly is looking to raise money and rather quickly. According to reports he is trying to sell his publishing rights but no one is buying. The disgraced crooner is apparently going through it like never before. A couple of weeks ago his lawyer Deveraux L. Cannick revealed that Robert’s funds are almost completely exhausted. So much so he requested trial transcripts for him, which are usually provided at cost, for free. According to Billboard Magazine his music publishing generates about $1.7 million dollars a year. He is apparently trying to sell it but thus far he has had no luck finding a buyer. Due to his association to some very vile accusations, including s...
