We catch up on the latest music publishing news, from key deals and acquisitions to new hires, legislation, the latest reports in music and much much more.
Deals & Acquisitions
TikTok and Warner Music Group sign multi-year licensing deal (MBW)
The first-of-its-kind multi-year licensing deal will see will see WMG license the repertoire of Warner Recorded Music and Warner Chappell Music to TikTok, TikTok Music, CapCut, and TikTok’s Commercial Music Library.
CTM Outlander acquires Fraser T Smith catalogue (Music Week)
The agreement covers a range of songs recorded by artists including Tiësto, Jonas Blue & Rita Ora, Stormzy, Dave, Raye, Craig David and more.
HarbourView Equity Partners acquires select music assets of Blackbear (MBW)
HarbourView has agreed to purchase select recorded assets and the publishing catalog of multi-platinum-selling, singer, songwriter, and music producer Blackbear.
Reservoir acquires catalog of rock artist and songwriter Greg Kihn (MBW)
Reservoir Media has acquired rights to the catalog of risk artist and songwriter Greg Kihn. The deal includes publishing, recording, and distribution rights to Kihn’s Beserkley Records era catalog.
$100m-backed asia-focused fund blackx strikes global music rights partnership with superstar Tanya Chua (MBW)
The development marks blackx’s latest deal after the fund launched in late September with an initial USD $100 million in financing.
CEMM’s collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Tom Howe has produced original music for over 80 Emmy and BAFTA-winning dramas and documentaries.
Reactional makes first move into production music with APM deal (Music Week)
The deal marks Reactional’s first move into production music and follows a previous agreement with Hipgnosis Song Management.
HarbourView acquired select recorded music and publishing assets from Wiz Khalifa (MBW)
After Nelly’s reported $50m deal, HarbourView has agreed to purchase select recorded music and publishing assets of multi-platinum selling Grammy and Globe-nominated artist Wiz Khalifa.
CMOs and Royalties
Collections for publishers & songwriters soared in 2022 as economies recovered from pandemic (Billboard)
Seven of the world’s largest collective management organizations (CMO’s) improved their 2022 collections by an average of 19.4%.
Music rights giant BMI in renewed talks to sell itself (Reuters)
BMI has turned to Goldman Sachs Group for guidance as it fields interest from potential acquirers, including private equity firms, the sources said, cautioning that the company may still decide not to sell itself.
GEMA acquires majority stake in music recognition technology firm Soundaware Group (MBW)
German collection society GEMA has acquired a majority stake in music recognition technology (MRT) firm SoundAware Group.
Music Modernization Act Five Years Later: Congress Holds Hearing to Examine its Impact (BMI)
On June 27, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a hearing in Nashville, “Five Years Later – The Music Modernization Act,” to examine its impact.
Songwriter Organizations Urge Congressional Action on the Mechanical Licensing Collective’s ‘Black Box’ Royalties — ‘Very Blatant Conflict of Interest’ (Digital Music News)
Organizations including Music Creators North America (MCNA), the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), and the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) are entreating U.S. Representative Darrell Issa to address the Mechanical Licensing Collective’s reportedly massive tranche of unmatched/unclaimed royalties.
SESAC partners with five Asian collection societies to form multi-territorial digital licensing hub (MBW)
Five Asian collection societies and SESAC Music Group has formed The Asian Alliance Music Rights Organization (AAMRO), a music rights hub established to manage music licensing and royalty distribution.
Signings
Raja Kumari signs to Downtown Music Publishing (Music Week)
Based in America, Kumari is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and rapper whose debut album The Bridge was released earlier this year via her own Godmother Records.
Imagine Dragons Signs With Warner Chappell Music (Billboard)
“Songwriting has always been at the heart of everything we do as a band,” Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds said in a statement.
UMPG signs Chinese singer-songwriter Tia Ray (Music Week)
Tia Ray is the first and only Chinese singer to be listed on IFPI’s Top 10 Global Singles Chart. Be Apart was the world’s seventh best-selling track in 2018.
Albert Hype and Jota Rosas sign to NEON16 Publishing (MBW)
NEON16 Publishing has expanded its roster of songwriters, producers, and artists with the signing of hit producers Albert Hype (Shakira, Bad Bunny, Selena Gomez) and Jota Rosa (Bad Bunny, Wisin & Yandel).
Yng Lvcas signs global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Mexico (Billboard)
Rising reggaetón star Yng Lvcas has signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Mexico after his song “La Bebe” song went viral across TikTok and other social media platforms.
Funding, Facts & Figures
Peloton paid the record industry more than TikTok last year, says Goldman Sachs (and 3 more revelations from financial giant’s latest ‘Music In The Air’ paper) (MBW)
Goldman’s forecasts in its June 2023 paper are significantly downgraded versus their June 2022 equivalent – but this is mostly due to currency alterations made in the latest edition of the IFPI‘s seminal annual Global Music Report.
Hipgnosis streaming revenues up 15% (Music Week)
Net revenue of $147.2 million was down 12.5% year-on-year. However, excluding one-off adjustments, net revenue grew by 10.9% year-on- year.
Legal
Music rightsholders flex lobbying muscles for the EU’s AI Act (Music Ally)
The music industry is going through the ‘trilogue’ negotiations process, which is where three key institutions in Europe hammer out the details of new laws.
Interesting Reads
Client Sync Spotlight: peermusic x Rooms to Go (Synchtank)
We sat down with Craig Currier, Vice President, Director of Advertising Markets at peermusic to chat through their recent sync with Jon Mero who not only had his track ‘Time to Celebrate’ in the latest Rooms to Go commercial, but also featured in the spot.
How Cécile Rap-Veber’s Plan for ‘SACEM 3.0’ Led to the French CMO’s Best Year Yet (Billboard)
The collective management organization outpaced its peers in 2022 — and its CEO says she’s just getting started.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund may soon sell some copyrights. Why – and who might be the buyer? (MBW)
Some of HSF’s biggest shareholders are hatching a plan to pump up the company’s public valuation via tactical methods, including a potential corporate share buyback and – most notably – through the disposal of some assets in the marketplace.
A 10% stake in led zeppelin’s music is for sale. here’s how it ended up on the market (MBW)
According to The Times, Peter Grant owned a 20% stake in Led Zeppelin’s music. His children Helen and Warren Grant each inherited 10% of that stake after their father’s death in 1995. Now Helen is selling her share.
