In Through the Out Door: Pub Crawling at BMG, SONGS, UMPG & more
Taeko Saito joins SONGS
There has been much movement in the music publishing world over the last few weeks, including the move for Taeko Saito from working at producer management operation AAM, into the A&R department at SONGS Music Publishing. Also new to SONGS is Josh Feingold, who comes to the boutique pubco from SESAC’s Los Angeles office… Meanwhile, after unloading much of the creative staff absorbed in the takeover of Chrysalis, who truth be told were more than exemplary in their talent-spotting, development and artist relations skills, BMG Rights Management has added Jon Sidel on the west coast and Kate Hyman out east to their creative department. And of course Bertlesmann announced a change at the top, with Thomas Rabe succeeding as the new CEO… In related news, former Bug Music CEO John Rudolph left the company following BMG’s recent purchase of the publishing outfit, while elsewhere, former Chrysalis North American president Kenny MacPherson and A&R VP Jamie Cerreta are rumored to be eyeing the void left in the independent music pubco sector after all the recent acquisitions – be on the lookout for more moves from the veteran publishers… Last week came the announcement that Evan Lamberg is to take the helm at Universal Music Publishing Group in North America. Insiders share that Lamberg was gunning hard for the position, though he probably wasn’t the first choice, as it was no secret that the top Universal brass took their time after numerous meetings with other suitors… And on the digital side, J Scavo ankles his global marketing position at the seemingly more stable Disney Music Group for the revolving door position that is digital at Warner Bros. Records. The digital executive bailed for the rival label, a hop-skip and a jump across the river in Burbank, after barely 18 months working for the Mouse. It was Scavo, previously the GM at MySpace Records and a vocal champion for non-traditional label models, who with his decision to suddenly resign to work at Disney, provided the spark for News Corp. to initiate moves to lay off the label’s staff and shutter it as an ongoing operation. Robbie Snow has been named the new Head of Global Marketing for Disney’s music operations under Hollywood Records… And Brett Greenberg has joined Crush Management as VP of radio promotions.
09.13.11Bits & Pieces: BMG Rights Management buy Bug Music, EMI auction slows & EU extends life of music copyright
Following reports last week that Spectrum Equity and Crossroads Media, owners of Bug Music, were accepting second round bids for the publishing company, came the news yesterday that KKR-backed BMG Rights Management has snapped up the independent pubco, for a price that is being rumored at $300 million. The acquisition, which is expected to be closed by October, will essentially double the catalog size of the KKR and Bertelsmann joint venture. Bug Music CEO John Rudolph is also reportedly suing the owners of the pubco, over a 2% equity stake in the company which he was promised… Of course, BMG RM is also currently bidding in the EMI auction, with its sights set on the publishing arm. An article in This Is Money over the weekend stated that bidders in the EMI auction are frustrated by Citigroup’s slow-pace in the process, and believe it is in an effort to give private equity parties enough time to raise cash to remain as contenders given the troubled financial markets… Good news for those vying for EMI, as well as many other record companies, is the decision by the European Union to extend the copyright term on sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. Many point to the mass of popular recordings from the 1960’s by numerous British artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many others that would begin to come up on term within only a few years, as being a primary reason behind the ruling. While the announcement was made as being a major boon to artists, in protecting works, others see the move as furthering what has been a negative situation for the many older artists and performers in the new digital age. The storyline also parallels that of the current copyright termination issue going on in the U.S., though there is no such reversion clause in the European law.
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Bits & Pieces: Just when you thought it was safe to buy EMI, Legal-Eagle Don Henley & Bug Music still for sale
Guy Hands; Looking for answers
Another potential wrinkle appeared in the current auction of EMI this week, with the reappearance of Guy Hands, who is taking legal action to recover documents explaining the basis for Citigroup’s takeover of the music company in February of this year. According to initial reports, Citi tapped PricewaterhouseCoopers to handle administration of the takeover process, and Terra Firma is now taking action against both parties after previous unsuccessful attempts to acquire a satisfactory explanation. After Hand’s courtroom defeat at the end of 2010, it was believed that the EMI takeover would not come until closer to summer of this year, given the debt-payment schedule, however the bank took action in February, after rumors in January that they were already shopping for buyers. So far Citi’s response to the initial sentiment that this new twist could cause a serious problem for their auction of the music group, was to indemnify all bidders currently pursuing EMI, according to the Financial Times. Some insiders are wondering if this isn’t just more posturing from Hands in an attempt to strike a blow against his former lender, particularly after recent widespread speculation that EMI could fetch a much higher price than originally believed. Considering the scuttlebutt earlier this year was that the abrupt takeover came as a result of threats from his own investors, one in particular, the answer might be yes… This latest development surrounding the EMI auction, comes after talk that the looming copyright termination battle royale, is also effecting the bidding process, though most observers share that neither issue will likely have crippling outcomes… Meanwhile, continuing his rounds with the press as artist-spokesman for the copyright termination topic, Don Henley speaks to Rolling Stone about the copyright law, options that artists have and how the record companies are not going to take it lying down… And according to the New York Post, independent music pubco Bug Music is taking second-round bids from interested parties, including KKR-backed BMG Rights Management, Ole Music and Imagen among others…
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Bits & Pieces: Bug Music For Sale Again, First Round Deadline for EMI Bids Set & more…
The owners of Bug Music are once again shopping for a buyer according to a report by Bloomberg this morning, with a target price of between $330 and $400 million for the publishing company. Acquired by a group of investors led by Spectrum Equity in 2006, the pubco was on the block as recently as last year, and while a sale was never completed, presumably due to lack of a high enough bid, insiders share that BMG Rights Management came close to completing a deal. It’s likely that they’ll be among bidders again this time, along with the 30 interested companies, according to the report, including Sony/ATV, which signed NDA’s to receive an offering book for Bug… Of course a higher profile auction is Citigroup’s unloading of EMI, which has an early August deadline for first round bids now expected, according to reports today. Warner Music has been the front-runner in early EMI sale talks, along with the KKR/Bertelsmann-backed BMG (read our pt.1 and pt.2 posts on that scenario), though a New York Post piece yesterday has Warner’s debt impeding a successful acquisition, and in speaking with the Financial Times over the weekend, Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski cautioned his company wouldn’t get involved in a bidding war for EMI and is only interested in offering a reasonable price. Those in the know still expect both companies to be on the shortlist over the coming weeks… In related news, it was announced today that Access Industries officially completed their acquisition of WMG… And elsewhere, charter sponsors for the U.S. unveiling of Spotify, including Chrysler, Coke, and News Corp’s The Daily, reportedly paid $1 million each to be included in the launch, with their branding prominently displayed in the service, and each getting 10,000 membership codes to giveaway as well.
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Wednesday Bits & Pieces: BMG Buys Chrysalis, Myspace on the Block & more…
BMG buys Chrysalis
Heading out of the holiday weekend, industry chatter continues over the acquisition of Chrysalis by BMG Rights Management. One of the world’s largest independent publishers, Chrysalis publicly announced that it was in early-stage talks for a potential sale or merger just less than one month ago. Others bidders said to have been in serious talks include Imagem and Bug Music, though BMG RM came in with the winning offer at just over $168million. The purchase is the latest in a series this year from the joint-venture backed by Bertelsmann and private equity firm KKR – who is being seen as the driving force behind the publisher’s aggressive acquisitions – which also includes Cherry Lane, Adage IV and Stage 3. Following the acquisition, CEO Hartwig Masuch made comments indicating that he believes BMG is now the world’s largest independent music publisher, and is just behind the top four major music publishers. EMI Music Publishing continues to be another likely target in the event of its break up, which would easily make BMG a rival for the top spot… Following the quick deflation of any excitement over the relaunched Myspace last month, comments by News Corp. COO on Monday seem to all but spell out the likelihood of a sale for the beleaguered social network. Though Myspace did release a new mobile site and iPhone app this week, a direction some see as the most sensible one for the site who has seen its numbers drop even more drastically over the past year. Likely bidders for the site being mentioned include the usual digital media giants like Yahoo and AOL, though others see Google (who is also in the midst of discussions to acquire the red hot startup Groupon) as an interesting candidate as well… Elsewhere, the L.A. Times takes a look at the recently overhauled MTV and its focus back on music… Sony Music mistakenly takes action to pull songs offline from Bradford Cox, whose musical projects include Deerhunter and Atlas Sound… And PC Magazine has responded to the letter it received from a group of industry executives last week, which included signees from organizations such as the RIAA, Harry Fox Agency, Sound Exchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, criticizing the publication for a recent article naming file-sharing service alternatives in the wake of LimeWire shutting down…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Buzzmedia Adds New Music Sites to Network
If issuing a press-release on a holiday can be considered an attempt to downplay a story, that wasn’t the case with the announcement on Monday of Buzzmedia’s addition of a handful of music sites to their growing stable. The new site additions including PureVolume, Popmatters, RCRDLBL, Gorilla vs. Bear and other highly-trafficked music properties got extra coverage because of the fairly confusing details. Are they acquisitions, ad-partnerships, lease with an option-to-buy, or a mixture of all three? It appears to be the latter… The New York Post was the first to report that publisher Bug Music is being shopped by JPMorgan for $300-million, and that those in the hunt include Sony/ATV, Universal Music, Warner Music and new (old) player KKR/BMG. Billboard chimed-in to include Evergreen Copyrights, Chrysalis Music and an unnamed financial firm as other possible suitors… As AT&T revealed that they would be popping a cap on customers unlimited internet, some were raising concerns about services like Pandora being seriously affected by the change, though further reporting showed the percentage of current users who would take a streaming hit was negligible… The founders of Kazaa and Skype unleashed their latest service Rdio Wednesday night at midnight. The cloud music service operates like a music-only Twitter and currently is only available via invite… Elsewhere, Vevo and boss Rio Caraeff are celebrating being the top spot online for music-videos… Alan McGee gives his 2-cents on the state of EMI Music… And is Google naming its still-to-be-unveiled iTunes competitor Google Music? Probably…
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