Analysis Universal Music Group generated 51% of its 2023 recorded music revenues in North America… and 8 other things we learned from its new annual reportMBW takes a deep dive through Universal's latest in-depth financial report
News On… DistroKid, Trefuego, modified audio, and the potential for a new ‘Napster Nightmare’Should distributors bear any responsibility for the spread of copyright-infringing modified tracks?
Analysis Taylor Swift has a laudable history of standing up to Big Tech in the name of artist compensation. By embracing TikTok in 2024, she’s broken ranks with that narrative.When Swift grappled with Apple in 2015, she noted that the fight was "not about me" – it was about other artists. The TikTok situation is the exact opposite.
Analysis 3 reasons why… Warner Music Group might be tempted to bid $1.8 billion for BelieveWeighing up the positive differences an acquisition of Believe could make to WMG
Analysis News Tencent Music users are ‘willing to pay’ for music produced with the company’s AI tools… and 3 other things we learned on TME’s latest earnings callKey takeaways from Tencent Music Entertainment's latest earnings call
Analysis Down The Skibidi Toilet: Why Universal Music Group’s ‘Project Timeout’ is hitting TikTok with endless copyright takedown requestsThere is a lot to explain here....
Analysis Universal Music Group’s recent batch of international deals highlight 5 global trends to watch in 2024From Latin Music to a booming Chinese market, these are the trends to watch out for in 2024.
Analysis Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s assets are now valued at $690 million less than they were before. Blackstone must be licking its lips.JP Morgan analyst says the likelihood of a Blackstone takeover just increased, thanks to Shot Tower's re-valuation of HSF
Analysis So… maybe don’t bet your house on Universal Music Group and TikTok reaching a deal anytime soonUMG and Sir Lucian Grainge today doubled down on their borderline disgust with the licensing offer/s they've received from TikTok in recent months
Analysis TikTok vs. Universal Music Group: The Cremation of Once-Cuddlesome RelationsSurveying the landscape of a battle between music's biggest rightsholder and ByteDance's video juggernaut
Analysis 3 observations on… Universal Music Group’s $240m bet on Chord Music (and the real story, Dundee Partners)Looking underneath the hood of today's big story in the music business
Analysis As Warner Music Group posts its biggest ever quarter… WMG boss Robert Kyncl says he’s ‘confident’ that Universal and TikTok will resolve their spatKyncl is planning 'as much automation as possible,' and more lobbying for higher prices at music streaming services
Analysis Could HYBE’s Weverse offer a template for Universal Music Group’s courting of ‘superfans’ in 2024?UMG has been experimenting with HYBE and Weverse since back in 2020. What's it learned?
Analysis TikTok’s biggest headache in its fight with Universal Music Group is UMG’s publishing catalog (and 2 other observations on the feud the whole music industry is talking about)What's really going on behind the scenes of music's big Grammy Week fall-out
Analysis As ‘artist-centric’ nobbles DIY aggregators, is a big-money ‘middle class’ distribution acquisition inevitable in 2024?Could any of the three majors, looking for a swift market share boost, execute a humdinger of an acquisition in the rest of 2024?