[ad_1]
Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we be sure you caught the 5 greatest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and cut back their touring prices.
Who’s essentially the most highly effective firm in music immediately? Should you make the case for Common Music Group, you then’re additionally making the case for Paris-headquartered Vivendi.
Vivendi has been the guardian of UMG for the previous twenty years… however that’s all about to vary. As a result of Vivendi now appears to be like poised to promote as a lot of UMG as it’s ready – for the puffiest attainable worth.
The French firm has already offered 20% of Common to a consortium led by China’s Tencent over the previous 14 months, for a complete of €6 billion (round $7.3 billion at present trade charges).
Vivendi (and its greatest shareholder, Vincent Bolloré) can be as a result of spin out one other 60% of UMG on the Amsterdam inventory trade within the coming months, which ought to elevate one other $20 billion-plus or $30 billion-plus, at UMG’s mooted present valuation.
And earlier this week, MBW broke the information that Vivendi is in discussions with an unnamed “American investor” to dump one other 10% of Common, for a multi-billion greenback price-tag.
If all of this involves move – the Tencent stake sale, adopted by the Amsterdam itemizing, and the “US investor” purchase – it might imply that Vivendi finally ends up promoting 90% of Common Music Group inside 18 months.
Doing the maths, the sale of this 90% stake would prospectively earn Vivendi someplace north of $40 billion in complete.
Vivendi notified its shareholders this week that it must hold maintain of 10% of UMG for now so as to keep “the safety of EU laws”. This, in flip, suggests it may need offered / spun out the whole thing of UMG had EU regulation not made doing so troublesome.
Which all raises a seismic query for the music enterprise: Why is Vivendi so eager to money out on UMG now?
Skeptics may counsel that the inevitability of main report firms dropping world streaming market share to the indie and DIY sectors in future is taking part in on the French agency’s thoughts. Or that maybe it has reservations concerning the ever-growing negotiating energy of star artists vs. labels. (Not for nothing is immediately’s greatest launch, Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album, Bitter, credited as (c) Olivia Rodrigo, underneath unique license to Geffen Data on Spotify.)
The countervailing view – the bullish one for UMG – would counsel that the worldwide music rights business nonetheless has huge progress forward of it over the subsequent 10 years. And that even when UMG by no means releases one other report, its ginormous catalog ensures it is going to be a chief beneficiary of this uptick.
There’s, maybe, a less complicated motivation: If Vivendi does certainly make $40 billion from the 90% of UMG it’s permitted to dump, it might simply beat the $34 billion that the French firm paid in inventory to accumulate Seagram within the 12 months 2000.
That purchase that not solely netted Vivendi UMG, but in addition the Common film, TV and theme park companies (which had been later offered on to Common Electrical / NBC in a $14 billion-valued deal).
Elsewhere within the music business this week, Sony Music introduced it had accomplished its acquisition of Kobalt’s AWAL and Neighbouring Rights firms – simply because the UK competitors watchdog kicked off an investigation into the deal. The key additionally inked a duo of necessary new agreements in China.
In the meantime, Joe Kentish – the British exec who signed Dua Lipa – was named President of Warner Data within the UK, as Deezer received a brand new CEO.
Additionally, right here’s a coda for this week’s Spherical-Up: Ron Perry, Chairman/CEO of Columbia Data is, in response to Selection, credited as a songwriter and producer on BTS’s new single, Butter.
Contemplating the monitor can be a smash (and set off smash-level royalties) even when it had been comprised of 30.5 seconds of horrisonant belching, Mr Perry may need simply change into the most well liked signing in music publishing.
MBW seen that Scooter Braun was credited as a author on a Justin Bieber / Ariana Grande single final 12 months, so it seems execs stepping into the credited creator recreation is turning into one thing of a pattern.
You realize what they are saying: Everybody’s received a success in them. Step ahead, Mr Bolloré!
Right here’s the remainder of the information you might want to know…
1) WHICH US COMPANY MIGHT SOON BUY 10% OF UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP?
In an replace to traders, Vivendi has indicated it might solely hold a ten% possession share, quite than 20%, of UMG post-flotation – with an extra 10% of its holding being offered off forward of the Massive Amsterdam Itemizing.
Vivendi mentioned this week that it’s presently “analyzing the chance” of promoting off this extra 10% in UMG (dramatic chord when you would, maestro…) to “an American investor”.
This teasing rough-sketch clearly suggests Vivendi is already in discussions with such a celebration, and it’s sure to get business tongues wagging.
2) SONY MUSIC COMPLETES $430M BUYOUT OF AWAL – BUT UK BODY IS INVESTIGATING DEAL
Sony Music has confirmed that it has accomplished the acquisition of two firms from Kobalt Music Group: recorded music firm AWAL plus Neighbouring Rights (previously Kobalt Neighbouring Rights).
Nevertheless, not each hurdle has been cleared: Sony’s announcement is available in the identical week that the UK’s Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) confirms it’s opening an investigation into the double acquisition, which Sony has beforehand valued at $430 million. (Kobalt Music Group Ltd is a UK-based firm.)
3) Sony Music inks new licensing offers with Tencent Music and NetEase Cloud Music in China
Sony Music Leisure has signed new multi-year licensing offers with the 2 greatest homeowners of music streaming platforms in China – NetEase Cloud Music and Tencent Music Leisure (TME).
The information marks a contemporary licensing construction for Sony Music in China, which has beforehand licensed its catalog completely via TME within the area.
4) FORMER DATING COMPANY BOSS NAMED NEW CEO OF DEEZER
World audio streaming service Deezer has employed Jeronimo Folgueira as its new CEO.
He takes over the function from Hans-Holger Albrecht, who has led Deezer since 2015.
In saying Folgueira’s arrival this week, Deezer additionally gave an official replace on its stats, noting it presently boasts “16 million month-to-month energetic customers world wide [with] a number one catalog of 73 million tracks, podcasts and radio stations”.
5) JOE KENTISH NAMED PRESIDENT OF WARNER RECORDS UK
There’s a giant management change coming to the UK music business.
On June 1, Joe Kentish will change into President, Warner Data UK. Kentish will rise from his present function as Head of A&R on the label, and can succeed Phil Christie who has determined to step down.Music Enterprise Worldwide
[ad_2]
Source link