Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly roundup – where we make sure you’ve grabbed the five biggest stories that made the headlines in the past seven days. MBW’s roundup is supported by Centtrip, which helps more than 500 of the world’s top-selling artists maximize revenue and reduce touring costs.
Twitch’s viewing figures are a sight to behold. According to twitchtracker.com, 1.8 BILLION hours of content were viewed on the platform in September alone, while in 2021 so far, Twitch has attracted over 2.7 million concurrent viewers. on average.
With an audience as large as this, it’s no surprise that a large music company sees the benefit of presenting their artist-related content in front of so many eyeballs.
And so, this week, Twitch entered its first major record label partnership with Warner Music Group, which will see exclusive content uploaded to WMG artist channels, as well as the creation of a standalone WMG music space featuring a premium music-centric programming.
The deal with WMG is an important step forward for Twitch in the context of its relationship with the music industry over the past two years.
Twitch has become an increasingly important tool for artists to connect with fans, particularly during the Covid quarantine, and the platform, while still unlicensed by the majors, is likely to come even closer. of the music industry in the years to come. The platform’s deal with the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) last week is further proof of this.
NMPA was also busy making deals this week, announcing a deal with Roblox that settles all previous publisher claims against the kids’ games platform.
The platform was sued – via NMPA – for more than $ 200 million in damages in June by a group of independent publishers and major music publishers alleging widespread copyright infringement by the company. .
This lawsuit has now been dismissed and NMPA says the new agreement “lays the groundwork for future partnerships with global publishers that will open up new creative and business opportunities on its platform.”
Also this week, Sony Music launched a well-being program for artists, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited revealed that it had invested around US $ 342 million as of June 30, and Utopia Music acquired the company. emotional data enrichment supported by Quincy Jones, Musimap.
Here’s what happened over the past five days …
1) WARNER MUSIC GROUP AND TWITCH INK A “FIRST OF ITS-KIND†PARTNERSHIP
Warner Music Group (WMG) and Twitch have entered into what the two companies call a “first of its kind” partnership – marking the Amazon-owned live streaming platform’s first partnership with a major record label.
Agreement with Warner Music Group’s recorded music business will see the launch of channels of WMG artists, including Warner Records stars Bella Poarch and Saweetie and viral Atlantic Records singer / producer Sueco, offering exclusive content and backstage material.
A stand-alone WMG music space offering high-end musical programming will also be created and promises to be “an exclusive last-minute experience”.
It will feature original, professionally produced programming curated by digital media company IMGN, which WMG acquired last year….
2) Roblox makes a deal with music publishers
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and video game platform Roblox have reached an agreement that settles any previous claims against Roblox.
The deal “also lays the groundwork for future partnerships with global publishers that will open up new creative and business opportunities on its platform,” according to a statement released by NMPA on Monday (September 27th).
The announcement follows the announcement in June that a group of independent publishers and major music publishers had – via NMPA – sued Roblox for more than $ 200 million in damages in the United States, alleging a widespread copyright infringement by society….
3) SONY MUSIC LAUNCHES AN “ARTIST ASSISTANCE†PROGRAM TO PROMOTE THE WELL-BEING OF ITS SIGNED TALENTS
This summer, in a widely applauded gesture, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) announced that it would begin to ignore unclaimed balances for eligible heritage catalog artists.
The landmark policy, the Legacy Unrecouped Balance Program, is the flagship program of SME’s “Artists Forward” initiative, which Sony Music says focuses on “prioritizing transparency with creators in all aspects of their development. “.
Today, SME announces a major expansion of Artists Forward, with a new wellness-focused program called Artist Assistance.
In a letter sent to thousands of SME artists yesterday (September 30) and obtained by MBW, SME describes the program as a “great global effort to promote the well-being of our signed talents and to provide them with relevant information. and key resources for their career â€â€¦ ..
4) ROUND HILL’S UK FUND SPENT $ 342M ON ACQUISITIONS – AND PURCHASES CATALOGS AT A MULTIPLE OF 16.2X
UK-listed Round Hill fund has released its first round of interim financial results, for the period ended June 30, 2021.
As of that date, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited (RHM) had invested approximately US $ 342 million.
This money was used to acquire 38 catalogs, as well as to purchase a 29.1% stake in RH Carlin Holdings LLC.
The UK-listed company acquired the stake in Carlin Music, which owns 100,000 song rights, including hits made famous by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin and Meatloaf, in May….
5) Emotional AI startup Musimap backed by Quincy Jones acquired by Utopia Music
If Switzerland-based tech company Utopia Music wasn’t on your radar before, it sure will be after this month.
In early September, the company appointed Roberto Neri, former executive vice president of business development at Downtown, as chief operating officer, followed by other major hires including Paul Gathercole as chief data officer, Ã…sa Carild in as head of the platform, and Paul Stuart as legal director.
Now the company, which music industry sources say has raised tens of millions of investor capital to date, has acquired Musimap, an emotional data enrichment company backed by Quincy Jones….
MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps more than 500 of the world’s top-selling artists maximize their income and lower their touring costs.Music trade around the world
