News After $1.5bn takeover proposal, Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s board tells Blackstone: We’re listening…Bring on a firm offer, HSF's board tells private investment giant
News Strap in. Blackstone is ready to bid $1.5 billion for Hipgnosis Songs Fund.To paraphrase Pink Floyd, Will the sun (Concord Chorus) be eclipsed by the moon (Blackstone)?
News Concord, financed by Apollo, makes $1.4bn cash bid to acquire Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s assetsBut will Merck Mercuriadis and Blackstone go quietly? Don't bet on that.
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.
Interviews ‘Don’t sign things you don’t fully believe in. Otherwise you’ll have to fake it.’Jamie Oborne talks success, ambition, adding Jack Antonoff to his management stable, and the “unflinching” artistry of The 1975…
News Confirmed: Warner Music Group won’t be making a bid for BelieveThe way now appears clear for Denis Ladegaillerie consortium's takeover
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
News BMG annual revenues hit $979m in 2023, up 4.6% YoY; EBITDA flat at $210mBMG's EBITDA margin stood at 21.4% in 2023, down slightly from the 22.5% margin it posted in 2022
News French regulators step in to remove roadblock for possible Warner Music Group bid for BelieveBelieve's board turned to the AMF to adjudicate whether a particular move by a consortium led by Believe founder/CEO, Denis Ladegaillerie, was lawful
News MBW (and Skibidi Toilet) just inspired a flurry of TikTok music takedownsTikTok took swift action over a list of videos that MBW identified as 'manipulating' UMG content
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 Warner Music Group and Denis Ladegaillerie’s tussle over buying Believe is hotting up – as France’s SEC equivalent gets dragged into the drama.Believe's board is turning to France's equivalent of the SEC to decide whether Denis Ladegaillerie's actions are approved or otherwise
News That mystery company interested in buying Believe? It’s Warner Music Group.Needless to say, Warner does not love Ladegaillerie's attempt to bypass the "fairness opinion" part of the acquisition process