Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff, made the first public statements regarding the video site’s profitability at the digital media conference this week, putting it plainly, “We are making money, yes,” with a reported $150 million in revenue last year. Read more…
All posts tagged EMI
Outgoing Warner Music Chairman maligns Universal acquiring EMI
Speaking at the Dive Into Media conference yesterday in California, on what was his last day as Chairman of Warner Music Group, Edgar Bronfman Jr. didn’t mince any words when it came to Read more…
EMI Sale: Warner Music hires antitrust lobbying firm, UK indies take AIM at deal
The LegalTimes blog reported on Tuesday that Warner Music Group has hired the lobbyist team of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, who filed registration report paperwork with Congress last week indicating it would be lobbying on antitrust matters – Read more…
YouTube & record labels engaged in renewal talks
According to an article by Greg Sandoval Read more…
Aaronson goes to Whalley World
It appears former President of Sire Records and Read more…
Digital Round Up: Google Music launches
Just about one year after Google had originally planned to unveil Google Music, a service that spent much of the last two years changing in concept and approach, and of course engaging in numerous negotiations with record labels, the (almost) fully-fledged music service was revealed yesterday. Read more…
And then there were 3… EMI split, where does it lead?
Universal Music Group and Sony Music continue to dominate the music biz storylines this year with the unpredictable conclusion of the EMI auction, Read more…
Round Up: Dr. Luke Sony Label Deal (Finally) Announced, EMI Auction Drags On & more…
Doug Morris' "new Jimmy"
In a New York Times feature on Doug Morris yesterday, included among the expected platitudes from the new CEO of Sony Music, like describing his plan for the company as simply “to help create the pre-eminent record company in the world,” was the clever and first official disclosure of a new label deal with producer Dr. Luke, which will see the expansion of his current imprint with Sony, Kemosabe Records. The news, which we exclusively revealed back over the summer (with the New York Post picking up the item shortly after), comes with similar overtones as we initially reported, which is Morris is attempting to recreate his successful investment and development of Interscope Records with Jimmy Iovine at Universal Music Group. The new deal, which has been in negotiation for many months, will put the label on equivalent footing as Epic, Columbia and RCA, and also includes exclusivity at Sony for Dr. Luke’s producer services for five years – a component that smacks of Sony’s soon-to-lapse agreement with Rick Rubin, whose production work outside of their label system has been noted by many as part of the arrangements overall failure. Also central to the Kemosabe deal is the purchase of a significant stake in Dr. Luke’s publishing by Sony/ATV, a move that will give the pubco an interest in what has been Luke’s highly-successful songwriting operation, which includes a stable of of up-and-coming pop composers with numerous chart-topping credits. Observers are drawing similarities to previous high-dollar publishing investments in hitmakers at their pinnacle, like Kara Dioguardi‘s Arthouse Entertainment deal… Meanwhile, Citigroup‘s auction of EMI is dragging on longer than the bank would like, with plenty of spin and speculation surrounding the action for the recorded music division. Last week saw the twist of Warner Music Group owner Len Blavatnik, pulling his bid from the table after Citi wanted him to increase the offer, though many see it simply as a negotiating tactic from the Access Industries owner. In turn, Universal Music Group, who previously was thought to be out of the running, is being touted as potentially back in, with the New York Post reporting the two sides are scheduled to meet today, though UMG’s last offer fell below Blavatnik’s. On the EMI Music Publishing side, the deal is still seen as BMG Rights Management‘s for the taking… Elsewhere, in related news, David Bowie is reportedly on the verge of leaving EMI, which would end a 15-year relationship that gave the label rights to a large part of his catalog of classic albums. Discussions are said to be taking place with both Universal and Sony… And South African hip-hop enigma Die Antwoord are leaving Interscope Records, seemingly as abruptly as they were signed to the label in early 2010. The group, who has a publishing deal with Sony/ATV, will soon be releasing their second album via their own new label ZEF RECORDZ.
Digital Round Up: New Music Economy, Steve Jobs Bio Reveals iTunes Dealings & more…
swimming upstream
An article on Rollingstone.com has been getting passed around this week, as magazine contributor and author of music biz treatise, Appetite for Self-Destruction, Steve Knopper, took a stab at outlining the “new economy” of music sales. Streaming-music services in particular are a hot topic recently among artists, record labels, music-tech start ups and those who observe and comment on all of their goings-on. Among the choice quotes from the piece includes one from Jeff Price, founder of TuneCore, who commented on the confusing nature of streaming royalty rates, saying “It is beyond complicated. It took me literally three months to understand this thing,” while MOG founder David Hyman chimed in on the record labels distribution of streaming royalties to artists, “Once they get that wad of money, how do they distribute it internally? I have no idea”… The biography of Steve Jobs and its contents has been another widely discussed subject recently, with various story lines that cross into the music industry sector as well, including the Jobs experiences dealing with major labels. A New York Post item today points to Apple‘s iTunes negotiation with former Sony Music boss Andy Lack, as particularly difficult, with Lack asking for royalties on each iPod sold, and Jobs criticizing him for not understanding his own business. Meanwhile, other more obvious iTunes related revelations are made, such as the reason that The Beatles only recently appeared in the digital marketplace was due to ongoing and unresolved contractual issues between the group and EMI… Elsewhere, Twitter has made its first specialized music hiring, in former Disney Music Group marketing manager Tatiana Simonian… AOL SVP of business development Jared Grusd is reportedly heading to Spotify… In a surprising move, Coldplay has opted to not make their new album Mylo Xyloto (pronounced “@&*%^$”) available on streaming services like Spotify, Rdio, MOG, Rhapsody and others, in what could be seen as a stance similar to holdout artists whose material still isn’t available on iTunes and other digital retailers… And more clues about Google‘s upcoming launch of a music store comes this week with evidence of an expanded Android mobile landing page for the new Google Music service.
EMI Derby Ramps Up As It Winds Down
EMI auction nears finish line
Numerous recent reports have Citigroup closing a deal (or two) for the sale of EMI by the end of this week, including a New York Post piece today claiming that a fight for the recorded music arm is down to billionaires Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries now owns Warner Music Group, and MacAndrews & Forbes Worldwide chairman Rob Perelman. On the publishing side, KKR and Bertelsmann-backed BMG Rights Management is being called the clear frontrunner, though Sony still isn’t being completely counted out. New Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe who is said to be making the rounds in New York this week, is very familiar with EMI, previously serving as Bertelsmann CFO since 2006 until his recent promotion, where he kicked the tires on the music group prior to Terra Firma‘s acquisition of the company in 2007 and then again at EMI Music Publishing in 2009, in discussions that likely included Citi as well… As we mentioned back at the outset of summer, Warner Music and BMG all along have been the favorites to end up with EMI’s recorded music and publishing arms, though many other suitors entered the bidding fray as expected as well. Among the many questions we are hearing with regard to the likely new owners of EMI, is the fate of current executives on both sides following a deal – including EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon, WMG’s Edgar Bronfman Jr., Capitol & Virgin NA label prexy Dan McCarroll, EMI Music Publishing’s Big Jon Platt, BMG’s Hartwig Masuch and Laurent Hubert and many others… Stay tuned.
Digital Round Up: New Google Music plans revealed, Rhapsody stands up to Spotify & more…
Going beyond beta
Back as a hot topic in the music + tech arena this week is Google Music, which follows the company’s halfhearted initial step into the cloud-music sector earlier this year with Music Beta. Now it appears that Google will be launching a digital music store in the coming weeks, but with a “twist,” as it is being reported, following Android chief Andy Rubin‘s appearance at the AsiaD conference this week. Cnet reports that the twist will likely be social features, which will enable sharing capabilities among users – social enhancements are being touted as a big driver behind Spotify and similar services recent rapid growth. According to multiple reports, the only major label close to an agreement with Google right now for the new music service is EMI, while a number of independent labels are apparently already onboard. Other bits concerning the new Google Music talk include whether or not it will have a ‘mirroring’ component or ‘scan and match’ that finds music already on a users’ computer – a feature that Apple‘s upcoming new iCloud music offering will feature. Or as noted by Evolver.fm – if Google follows up their digital store by offering their own streaming-music subscription service, it could achieve the same outcome. Currently users of Music Beta have to upload their music to Google’s cloud-based music locker. While seemingly late to the game in all this, some observers are noting what a huge advantage and launching pad Google-owned YouTube will be for any new music service they bring, as the video site continues to reign as the largest free music site around… Following the recent acquisition of Napster, veteran music-subscription service Rhapsody continues on the publicity trail, with executives recently interviewed by Business Insider among others and speaking at this week’s CMJ Music Marathon conference. The biggest question has been about sustainability and relevance in light of all the new similar services, mainly Spotify, and how they plan to compete. But Rhapsody maintains that their business is healthy, they received a boost from all the press surrounding the aforementioned European startup’s launch in the U.S., and with the new Napster customer-base and planned wireless and cable provider deals, they’re doing just fine, and without a free offering to entice new users, for now… And how much of all the optimistic talk surrounding the bourgeoning on-demand and streaming music territory is hype vs. substance? A new report from the NPD Group, studying music listening habits, does show that in America at least, newer ways of accessing music are gaining real ground on traditional radio and CD listeners, with possibly the most revelatory statement being that “a tipping point is approaching when vehicles and portable devices move from a tethered connection to a more integrated one” – read more in the press release… In other quick items… Pandora has named its first chief marketing office in Simon Fleming-Wood… New music service Beyond Oblivion Inc., also known as Boinc and partially owned by News Corp., is reportedly close to finalizing licensing agreements with the four major label groups… Jimmy Iovine isn’t the only Universal Music exec with a penchant for high-end audio, as music industry veteran and co-CEO of Sanctuary 5B Artist Management, Carl Stubner, has been named to the advisory board of high-definition audio company Max Sound… And the popular music curating and aggregating site The Hype Machine has reached 1 million users.
Adventures in Babysitting: Six degrees of representation
West Coast labels have started circling new buzz act Youngblood Hawke, though the scuttlebutt appears to be that there’s some confusion over who is actually rep’ing the band, which features two former members of Iglu & Hartly – currently on ‘hiatus’ after a long and turbulent cycle following their debut and only album & Then Boom. Several “young managers” have been busy hustling meetings around town with A&R players, falsely posing as Youngblood’s managers (not realizing that fractured as the industry may be, folks still do talk) – especially when something smells fishy. Those keeping score may remember a similar scenario occurring during the bidding derby for All-American Rejects a few of years back… Meanwhile, word is that former EMI A&R executive Steven Melrose, who departed the label under incoming prexy Dan McCarroll last fall, has been serving in an unofficial capacity as the band’s manager. Once his contract is up, he’s expected to take an official role as part of their management, hopefully before any hawks waiting in the wings swoop in. Youngblood Hawke started their October Monday night residency at The Satellite this week.
Bits & 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.
