BMG Rights Management + EMI & the ‘Big Three’ Era… Pt. 2
EMI; another brick in the wall?
The sale of EMI Music Publishing to BMG Rights Management would be by far the largest investment for the Bertelsmann and KKR-backed venture, and would more than triple the current catalog of over 300,000 copyrights. It’s a catalog the JV has amassed in less than two years, through a series of acquisitions that include Cherry Lane Music, Adage IV, Stage Three Music, Evergreen Copyrights and Chrysalis Music, along with a handful of other international catalogs and pubcos. The speed in which BMG RM has climbed to the spot of fifth largest publisher in the world is striking, but only part of the story when looking at their catalog purchases. What’s more interesting to some insiders are the subplots and what they could signal for the future. Let’s step back and take a closer look… One of the most impressive and significant music publishing constructions in recent decades was that of Dreamworks Music Publishing, a catalog that was assembled under the guidance of veteran publisher Chuck Kaye. It included works from artists such as The Byrds, John Denver, Jimmy Eat World and Lifehouse among others, along with hit titles like “Disco Inferno” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. The catalog journeyed from one home to another throughout the 2000’s following the sale of the Dreamworks recorded music division to Universal Music in 2003. The catalog was first sold for $50 million to Dimensional Music Publishing in 2004, a newly created arm of JDS Capitol Management (who also owns eMusic and The Orchard), in a deal which is seen as seminal in the recent trend of venture capital investments in music publishing assets. However, Dimensional publishing’s run was short-lived, selling its assets less than three years later to First State Media Group, a new fund whose publishing entity operated as S1 Songs. Then again in under three years time, in early 2010 - after its own stint on the block almost being bought by then EMI owner Terra Firma – Chrysalis Music acquired First State Media and S1 Songs for $16.5 million, in a deal that included the Wind-Up catalog and of course the original 25,000 Dreamworks copyrights. And in November of last year, less than one year later, Chrysalis announced it was being bought by BMG RM, adding another 100,000 works to the JV’s catalog, in a deal valued at $169 million… So with a major addition like EMI’s publishing assets, what would the future hold? Particularly taking into account the consolidation happening within the ranks of the companies they’ve already acquired. On track to double their revenues by 2015, will the trend continue, with EMI (which has undergone significant cost-cutting of its own recently) as the final piece in a KKR and Bertelsmann plan to build the world’s largest publishing company and flip it? The common belief in many circles is that the industry is headed to a new era of the ‘Big Three’, and as such, none of the majors left will be able to afford leaving such valuable publishing assets outside of their control. It’s going to get interesting… Tune in tomorrow as we break a new big publishing deal currently in play.
06.8.11Bits & Pieces: EMI Auction Expected this Month, Universal Music taps INgrooves for NA Digital, the Latest in Signing Derbies & more…
UMG taps INgrooves for digital in North America
According to The Wrap, the auction of EMI Group by Citigroup will begin this month, as the bank has been preparing the offering that has potential bidders, which include private equity firms, billionaires and rival music groups lining up. While recent reports have Warner Music auction winner, Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, the likely frontrunner for acquiring EMI in an attempt to merge the two, the article’s sources have Citi officials carefully watching the current shareholder lawsuits contesting the WMG sale… Universal Music Group will be replacing its current North American digital music supply chain with INgrooves‘ ONE Division, which will now be responsible for all online and mobile deliveries to retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, AT&T, Verizon and others. UMG first partnered with INgrooves back in 2008, becoming a strategic investor in the digital distribution provider helmed by CEO Robb McDaniels… UK-based fundraising platform PledgeMusic has announced it is launching in the U.S. and Randy Sabiston has been named Managing Director. A veteran of music publishing, Sabiston previously held executives positions at S1 Songs America, Warner/Chappell, Polygram/Island Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing… Meanwhile, after Sony Music recently landed bidding-derby act Odd Future, signing them to a high seven-figure imprint label deal with Sony/RED, Columbia Records has signed Kreayshawn (who also has OFWGKTA associations). A&R player Mark Williams inked the Oakland-based artist, who has been the subject of a label derby as well, following her song “Gucci Gucci” racking up over a million YouTube views in a matter of weeks. Speaking to MTV about all the recent attention, Kreayshawn, whose real name is Natassia Zolot, said “I’m not a person who just made a song and happened to get it popping off of one song. I think there’s a lot of songs that are going to sound even better and are a different genre,” adding, “Honestly, do you really [think] somebody would sign someone off of one song? Being like, ‘Oh, we’re just gonna take a gamble?’” Incidentally, new debut releases on Columbia from Foster the People, Cults and The Vaccines are out now…
| Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Chrysalis acquires over 45K copyrights in First State Media Group deal
All eyes were on EMI this week with the end of the quarter looming and no clear indication as to what kind of licensing deal, if any, would be struck at the last minute. At the end of day no deal was made, and the new default deadline for the beleaguered music company and its parent Terra Firma appears to be June… Chatter that American Idol owner CKX, Inc. is in discussions to sell the company was confirmed on Monday… As we alluded to last week, Chrysalis has announced its acquisition of First State Media Group, whose S1 Songs and State One Music trade names control over 45,000 copyrights including the former Dreamworks catalog and Wind-Up catalog… MP3.com founder Michael Robertson is preparing to take on internet radio with the rollout of his new service BYO.fm… Australian music start up Guvera launched a public beta in the U.S. on Tuesday… And Roadrunner Records will be releasing Korn’s upcoming Ross Robinson-produced album Korn III – Remember Who You Are sometime this summer…
| Posted in Reading Recap | No Comments »
Halloween Hangover
Trances Arc plays Molly Malone's Wed, Nov 4th
Hope everyone still has their candy-buzz going, cause you’re going to need it to catch all the great music happening this week. First up, the next 48 hours… Tonight A&R Knights, which has a new home at On the Rox (that’s above The Roxy), features Austin Gibbs and Samuel Stewart. Same recession-proof rules apply, $5 or FREE with biz card. Those in-the-know will know why you need to be at this show… S1 Songs (NYC) artist Trances Arc plays Molly Malone’s tomorrow night (11/04) at 8:00PM. Trances Arc hails from Athens, GA and is another impressive band to emerge from this region so seemingly fertile with quality indie/alt-rock. They recently toured with fellow peach-staters The Whigs and Dead Confederate, and just released their new EP Radians last week. Check it out: www.myspace.com/trancesarc
For Trances Arc list hook-up email: info@rm64.com
Up next the Rumble L.A. party and Revival Tour, stay tuned…
| Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
| Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »