Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we make sure that you caught the 5 largest 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 maximize their revenue and scale back their touring prices.
Reside Nation‘s acquisition of LA-based expertise administration agency Timeline has highlighted the truth that the live performance and ticketing big can also be a serious participant in expertise administration. And Timeline’s involvement with on-line influencers doubtlessly opens a brand new avenue for Reside Nation to advertise its exhibits and artist administration shoppers…
On the opposite aspect of the Pacific, HYBE-owned label ADOR filed a lawsuit in opposition to Ok-pop group NewJeans. The lawsuit adopted the group’s announcement per week earlier that it plans to depart ADOR. The label argues that NewJeans don’t have the power to cancel their contract unilaterally.
Elsewhere, Craig Peters, the CEO of Getty Photographs, penned an op-ed for Fortune this week criticizing AI builders’ copyright thievery.
Additionally this week, TikTok revealed its lists of the most important musical tracks and artists on the platform this 12 months. The corporate mentioned that 13 of the 16 tracks that hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Sizzling 100 have been linked to tendencies on TikTok.
Lastly, MBW seemed again at this 12 months’s largest music offers. The 12 months was dominated by personal fairness investments and huge issuances of securities backed by music belongings. On the catalog acquisition aspect, Sony Music dominated with numerous blockbuster offers.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
1) LIVE NATION JUST MAJORITY-ACQUIRED A HOLLYWOOD INFLUENCER MANAGEMENT COMPANY. HERE’S WHY THAT MATTERS.
Reside Nation is a dwell music promotion and ticketing big, however it additionally runs a powerhouse expertise administration enterprise.
Certainly, the Michael Rapino-led firm claimed in its 2023 annual report back to be “one of many world’s main artist administration firms primarily based on the variety of artists represented.”
On Tuesday (December 3), Reside Nation revealed the most recent addition to its expertise administration operation: It’s acquired a majority stake in Timeline – described by LN as one among Los Angeles’ “premier expertise administration companies.”
Timeline makes a speciality of “younger Hollywood and influencer expertise.” The acquisition of a majority stake in Timeline is a major improvement for Reside Nation, given the rise and energy of influencer advertising on social media platforms…
2) HYBE’S ADOR LABEL FILES LAWSUIT OVER NEWJEANS DEAL DISPUTE, SAYS Ok-POP GROUP’S EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT ‘CANNOT BE UNILATERALLY TERMINATED’
ADOR, a subsidiary of Ok-pop powerhouse HYBE, has filed a lawsuit to forestall lady group NewJeans from terminating their unique contract, escalating a high-stakes dispute within the South Korean music trade.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday (December 3) with the Seoul Central District Courtroom, challenges the group’s latest try to depart the label, with ADOR asserting that the prevailing contract stays legally binding and can’t be unilaterally terminated.
“Though we didn’t want to search authorized intervention with the artist, we determined that it was essential to make clear to each the artist and all related stakeholders that our unique contract can’t be unilaterally terminated primarily based solely on the claims of 1 aspect,” ADOR mentioned in a press release despatched to MBW.
The lawsuit follows a press convention held by NewJeans on November 28, the place the group publicly introduced their intention to exit ADOR. Group member Hanni claimed the label “has neither the power nor the need to guard” the members, citing psychological misery and a “breach of belief…”
3) TIKTOK REVEALS ITS TOP SONGS OF 2024; SAYS THAT 13 OF 16 NO.1 HITS IN THE US THIS YEAR ARE LINKED TO TRENDS ON ITS PLATFORM
TikTok has lengthy promoted itself as a serious driver of music discovery, and its Yr-Finish Music Report for 2024 reiterates this theme.
Based on TikTok, 13 of the 16 tracks that reached No.1 on the US Billboard Sizzling 100 have been not directly linked to a development on the platform.
Moreover, 10 of the 11 tracks to hit No.1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart have been boosted by TikTok reputation, the report recommended.
“In 2024 TikTok actually grew to become the music trade’s main launchpad for music, artists and creativity,” Ole Obermann, TikTok’s World Head of Music Improvement, mentioned in a press release…
4) THE CEO OF GETTY IMAGES JUST DELIVERED A PUBLIC SMACKDOWN TO AI COPYRIGHT THIEVERY
In a scathing op-ed printed by Fortune this week, the CEO of pictures company Getty Photographs, Craig Peters, criticized the argument that utilizing copyrighted content material accessible on the web to coach AI with out permission is ‘honest use’ below copyright regulation.
He advocates as a substitute for a nuanced strategy to assessing honest use, supporting AI’s potential for societal good with out undermining the inventive industries – together with music.
Peters’ piece concludes with the argument that there “is a good path that rewards creativity and delivers the guarantees of AI”.
He provides: “Let’s cease the rhetoric that every one un-permissioned AI coaching is authorized and that any requirement to respect the rights of creators is on the expense of AI as a expertise…”
5) THE 21 BIGGEST MUSIC BUSINESS DEALS OF 2024: FROM IRVING AZOFF TO DADDY YANKEE, HIPGNOSIS, AND QUEEN
As the worth of music firms and copyrights continues to develop, so do the offers being made within the trade – and the involvement in personal fairness in these transactions.
In financial phrases, the most important deal of 2024 (up to now, anyway) got here courtesy of PE agency Hellman & Friedman, which struck a ten-figure settlement to accumulate a stake in Irving Azoff’s US-based PRO World Rights Administration (GRM).
One other side of the music trade that’s grown quickly in 2024 is the securitization of music belongings. This 12 months noticed numerous main asset-backed securitizations from music copyright holders, together with Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Harmony, and Kobalt.
On the catalog offers aspect, Sony Music dominated 2024, shopping for all or elements of the catalogs of Queen, Pink Floyd, and Michael Jackson…
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and scale back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide