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 maximize their revenue and cut back their touring prices.
The modifications to Spotify‘s subscription tiers and pricing are coming in quick and livid lately. On Monday (June 3), the corporate introduced a worth hike within the US, the second in lower than a yr, bringing the worth of a Premium particular person subscription to $11.99 a month.
In the meantime, within the UK, Spotify has launched a “music-only” tier, a transfer that was signaled by CEO Daniel Ek on an earnings name a number of months in the past.
The brand new tier arrives amid a fierce debate with music publishers over Spotify’s reclassification of its Premium tiers as “bundles” with audiobooks, lowering the quantity it pays out in mechanical royalties within the US.
In different music streaming information, Spotify and different streamers are sad with Canada’s authorities after it introduced in new rules requiring them to pay 5% of their Canadian income to numerous funds that assist conventional radio stations, in addition to Canadian content material creators.
Elsewhere on the earth of digital music, Twitch has signed “first-of-its-kind” agreements with the recording majors (Common Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group), in addition to with indie consultant Merlin, to permit DJs on the platform to legally play music on their livestreams.
Lastly, MBW determined to judge the oft-made assertion that Merck Mercuriadis overpaid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund‘s property. We broke down the numbers, and located that Hipgnosis’ catalog is definitely price greater than folks thought.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
Credit score: Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock
1) AFTER HIKING US PRICES AGAIN, SPOTIFY OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES A MUSIC-ONLY SUBSCRIPTION TIER… IN THE UK
Spotify has launched a brand new music-only subscription tier known as Fundamental Particular person, which doesn’t provide entry to audiobooks.
The brand new tier seems to be accessible within the UK solely at current and prices £10.99 per 30 days.
Spotify introduced on Monday (June 3) that its particular person Premium tier goes up by $1 per 30 days in the USA to $11.99.
Spotify’s new Fundamental Particular person (aka music-only) tier within the UK has been quietly launched amid a fierce debate between the music streaming platform and music publishers in the USA over SPOT’s determination to reclassify its Premium tiers as ‘bundles’ by combining music and audiobooks…
2) HIPGNOSIS SONGS FUND’S CATALOG TURNED OUT TO BE WORTH MORE THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT.
Two billion, 2 hundred and 6 million.
The approximate variety of music biz lunches since Hipgnosis Songs Fund floated in 2018 at which individuals have instructed Merck Mercuriadis has overpaid for property.
Not likely… that’s simply the way it feels typically.
$2.206 billion is definitely the quantity spent in US {dollars} by Hipgnosis Songs Fund – through Mercuriadis – on catalogs so far, as per HSF’s newest interim report.
So, has Mercuriadis (through HSF’s longtime funding adviser, Hipgnosis Tune Administration) actually overspent on the catalogs owned by HSF at the moment…?
3) SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER AND MERLIN STRIKE MUSIC LICENSING DEALS WITH TWITCH FOR DJ LIVESTREAMS
Amazon-owned livestream platform Twitch has struck what it calls “first-of-its-kind” offers with a number of rightsholders to permit DJs to legally play music of their livestreams on the platform.
Twitch has struck offers with all three main music corporations, together with Common Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and numerous unbiased labels through Merlin.
In accordance with Twitch, since early 2020, the variety of DJs streaming on the service has greater than quadrupled and that “over 15,000 of them have been in a position to construct and monetize communities of music followers on Twitch”.
Twitch says that the brand new program, set to launch later this yr, may even create promotional alternatives “on and off” Twitch together with placement on the Twitch homepage, in addition to sponsorship alternatives unique to DJs…
4) WARNER MUSIC GROUP POACHES GOLDMAN SACHS’ MICHAEL RYAN-SOUTHERN TO LEAD GLOBAL M&A
Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl has beforehand hinted that his firm is eager to develop its presence in numerous essential sectors of the music enterprise through acquisition.
Now, he has discovered the chief to guide that mission.
Extensively revered exec Michael Ryan-Southern is leaving Goldman Sachs, becoming a member of Warner Music Group to guide all M&A exercise on the international main music firm.
At Warner, he’ll assume the newly created submit of Govt Vice President, Company Growth, efficient August…
5) MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES COME OUT SWINGING AGAINST CANADA’S NEW ‘DISCRIMINATORY TAX’ THAT REQUIRES THEM TO HAND OVER 5% OF THEIR CANADIAN REVENUES
Music streaming providers are criticizing a brand new regulation in Canada that requires main streaming providers to pay 5% of their income to numerous teams supporting the creation of Canadian content material.
“We’re deeply involved with at the moment’s determination to impose a discriminatory tax on music streaming providers which are already making important contributions to Canadian artists and tradition,” Graham Davies, President and CEO of the Digital Media Affiliation (DiMA), stated in a press release issued on Tuesday (June 4).
“Streaming is the principle income and engine of progress for music in Canada, benefiting the business, creators, followers and customers. And that is successfully a protectionist subsidy for radio.”
Amongst others, DiMA represents Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify…
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-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.Music Enterprise Worldwide
