Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we make certain you caught the 5 largest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their revenue and cut back their touring prices.
A good bit of the information within the music enterprise this week centered round Spotify, the streaming service with which the business has developed one thing of a ‘love-hate’ relationship. This week showcased precisely why.
The corporate credited with rescuing music from the scourge of piracy is reportedly planning a brand new Premium music tier that may characteristic high-fidelity audio, and can price not less than $5 extra per thirty days than current plans. That’s undoubtedly excellent news for the businesses arguing that music continues to be underpriced.
However then we have been reminded of the opposite aspect of the connection between Spotify and a few components of the business – when the Nationwide Music Publishers’ Affiliation (NMPA) filed a criticism with the US Federal Commerce Fee over SPOT’s choice to bundle music and audiobooks to cut back the mechanical royalty fee for songwriters within the US.
Talking of royalties, one factor holding rightsholders again is the a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} left unpaid yearly as a result of incomplete or unhealthy knowledge. Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl had some ideas this week on the way to (lastly) repair the issue.
Additionally this week, MBW delved into Sony Music Group‘s decade-long acquisition spree, which we estimate to have been price not less than $6 billion.
And at last, the NMPA revealed this week that US music publishing income jumped 10.7% to $6.2 billion in 2023, outstripping recorded music’s progress in proportion phrases.
1) SPOTIFY TO LAUNCH PRICIER PREMIUM MUSIC TIER THAT INCLUDES HIGH-FIDELITY AUDIO (REPORT)
Spotify is planning to launch a pricier Premium music tier later this yr that features entry to high-fidelity audio.
That’s in accordance with Bloomberg, which, citing sources, reported on June 11 that this new tier will price “not less than $5 extra per thirty days” and might be “an add-on” for current subscribers.
The report provides that the brand new plan will embrace high-fidelity audio in addition to new playlisting and track library administration instruments.
Spotify’s reported plan to launch a pricier Premium tier this yr follows the corporate’s current worth hike in the USA, the place its particular person Premium tier goes up by $1 per thirty days to $11.99…
In April, Spotify introduced its controversial choice to reclassify its Premium tiers as ‘bundles’ by combining music and audiobooks.
The transfer resulted in Spotify paying a decrease mechanical royalty fee within the US to publishers and songwriters.
But the world’s largest subscription music streaming service might not have anticipated simply how fierce the opposition to its bundling choice can be from songwriters and publishers.
Within the phrases of Nationwide Music Publishers’ Affiliation boss David Israelite, talking at the NMPA‘s Annual Assembly in New York on June 12: “Spotify has declared conflict on songwriters. Our response shall be all-encompassing…”
Annually, a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in royalties globally are not paid to the proper rightsholders as a result of incomplete or unhealthy knowledge.
It’s been a supply of frustration amongst rightsholders for years: the place the so-called ‘black field’ cash goes when PROs can not match a observe’s metadata to consumption, and pay out precisely.
Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl needs the business to resolve the issue and has some ideas for a way to take action.
Kyncl known as for the business to determine the way to “allow” assortment societies globally to “collaborate” with a view to clear up the problem of unmatched knowledge…
If Bloomberg is to be believed, Sony Music Group is at the moment in discussions with Queen’s representatives over a possible acquisition of the legendary band’s catalog, which may price, relying on the variety of rights included, USD $1 billion.
Rob Stringer, Chairman of Sony Music Group, declined to instantly focus on the Queen rumors throughout a presentation for Sony Corp buyers on Might 30. However he definitely made a nod in its route.
He famous the rising significance of older music to at the moment’s business music business, stating two stats: (i) Based on Luminate, 73% of streaming consumption within the US final yr was of catalog music; and (ii) Some 41% of Spotify‘s annual international 200 largest tracks in 2023 have been launched greater than two years beforehand.
“By way of focused investments, we consider catalog is the bottom of our technique to navigate a profitable path to all future tech traits within the music area… Within the coming yr, we’ll be good in our purchases which are curated to this method,” he mentioned.
The US music publishing business is dealing with a brand new problem within the type of Spotify’s sudden discount to its mechanical royalty payouts. However regardless of this and different challenges, the songwriting and music publishing enterprise stays robust.
That’s the decision from David Israelite, President and CEO of the Nationwide Music Publishers’ Affiliation, which on Wednesday (June 12) revealed US music publishing revenues for 2023.
Revenues for the yr got here in at $6.21 billion, up 10.74% from the yr earlier than, Israelite advised the viewers on the NMPA’s annual assembly.
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and cut back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide
