business
CAA Names Hilary Krane as Chief Legal Officer
Creative Artists Agency has hired former Nike exec Hilary Krane as its chief legal officer. In her new role, Los Angeles-based Krane will oversee all legal matters, including strategic business initiatives, mergers and acquisitions and international expansion at CAA. That M&A activity includes CAA’s proposed acquisition of ICM, which the U.S. Department of Justice is scrutinizing for the impact of the major agencies’ proposed merger on the entertainment industry. The acquisition, unveiled in Sept. 2021, is looking to be completed in the second quarter of this year. “CAA’s devotion to, and consistent success for, the world’s top talent and brands unquestionably begins with its exceptional internal culture of service and collaboration. To play a role in that special environment and help ...
Influence Media Calls Tainy Catalog Acquisition an ‘Eight-Figure Deal’
Influence Media Partners, which previously acknowledged its acquisition of rights from producer/artist Tainy, has provided additional details on the deal, saying it consists of the producer’s song publishing catalog from 2005 to 2021 and includes such songs as Cardi B‘s “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin; Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “Dakiti;” and Kali Uchis’ “Telepatia.” Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, other than to describe it as an eight-figure deal. “I am happy to continue to be a part of this cultural awakening for Latino music and artists in this business,” Tainy said in a statement. “This acquisition solidifies my hard work and the power that Latin music has in the global mainstream.” Influence Media, which is backed with funding from BlackRock Alternative Inve...
Colombian Producer Bull Nene Launches New Label With Virgin
Colombian songwriter and producer Bull Nene (real name René David Cano) has launched his own record label, called God Willing, and signed a global distribution deal with Virgin Music US Latin. The Medellín-born Bull Nene, known for his work with the likes of J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma and Juanes among others, is known for his more melodic urban sound. His first signing is 23-year old Medellín native Mar Mejía, who sings a blend of soul and pop with urban beats. Mejía’s first single under the label is “Money,” a bilingual track about ambition and dreams, written by Bull Nene with Vibarco, Zenzei and Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Gale. [embedded content] Tapping an artist from Medellín and basing his new label in his hometown was a deliberate decision, says Bull Nene. “I felt it was the righ...
Sony Music Suspends Operations in Russia Over Ukraine Invasion
Sony Music Group has joined a growing list of global music companies pulling out of Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. “Sony Music Group calls for peace in Ukraine and an end to the violence,” the company said in a statement on Thursday. “We have suspended operations in Russia and will continue our support of global humanitarian relief efforts to aid victims in need.” The move by Sony to suspend its operations in Russia, where it has roughly three dozen employees, follows similar actions by Universal Music Group, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok and Live Nation, among others. A source familiar with Sony’s decision tells Billboard that the company will continues to provide financial and wellbeing assistance to the impacted employees but could not elaborate further.This is a develop...
A24 Valued at $2.5 Billion USD Following $225 Million USD Equity Investment
Independent film studio A24 has confirmed a $225 million USD equity investment, valuing the company at $2.5 billion USD. According to reports, Stripes was named the lead investor for the round while its founder, Ken Fox, will be part of A24’s board. The investment group, which was co-led by Neuberger Berman, will hold less than 10% of the company. This marks A24’s first equity raise since its initial seed funding by minority stakeholders Eldridge. “A24 is a world-class brand and an extraordinary business,” Fox said in a statement. “We’ve built a relationship with the A24 team over many years and have been amazed by the breadth and impact of their iconic storytelling globally. A24 is synonymous with incredible content and it is a prime example of Stripes’ belief in partnering with founders ...
Spotify Suspends Premium Accounts in Russia
Spotify has suspended its premium accounts in Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine, a company executive said on Wednesday (March 9). Paul Vogel, the streaming platform’s CFO, said the shutdown would result in a loss of about 1.5 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2022, Variety reported. That is not expected to be material for the company: Russia represents less than 1% of Spotify’s total revenue of 9.67 billion euros ($10.93 billion) in 2021, up 22.7% from 2020. In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Spotify said last Wednesday that it was closing its office in Russia and removing content from state-sponsored broadcasters RT and Sputnik. The platform has been unable to add new premium accounts or to run advertising in Russia since credit card companies Visa, Mas...
The future of work: Companies open offices in the metaverse
There’s been a sharp decline in interest for the “metaverse” keyword in Google search. However, while the hype may be waning, it seems that companies are still very keen on dipping their toes into the virtual world. In March alone, companies have either launched or revealed plans to build metaverse offices that would be used for online meetings with international clients, internal innovation hubs and enhancing social communication with users. While we may be witnessing its earlier versions, metaverse offices seem like a sneak peek into the future of work. With this, let’s take a look at some companies that have recently entered the metaverse. Events firm Atom sets up a metaverse office Atom, an events firm based in Mumbai, has recently set up its metaverse office. The firm purchased digita...
Downtown Launches $200M Fund to Support Indie Artists & Entrepreneurs
Downtown Music Holdings has established a fund to invest over $200 million in support of independent artists and entrepreneurs, the company announced Wednesday (March 9). The fund, which is supported by a new credit facility with Bank of America, will be spread across Downtown’s distribution, publishing administration and artist and label services operations. In a statement, Downtown Music Holdings CEO Andrew Bergman said the financing from Bank of America “enables us to expand our music services business by giving creators and business owners the ability to finance projects in an environment where the options are often unpalatable.” Downtown chief investment officer Alan Goodstadt added, “We are immensely gratified that Bank of America shares our vision of building financial solutions for...
Music Earnings Q4 2021: Taking Stock of Spotify, WMG, SiriusXM & More Companies
Most public music companies continued hot streaks by turning in good or excellent numbers for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021. For the majority of them, however, it would have been difficult not to impress in 2021 compared to 2020. COVID-19 shut down the touring business for three quarters of 2020, hampered brick-and-mortar retail for much of the year and hammered advertising spending, which affected radio broadcasters as well as streaming services. By the end of 2021, businesses’s main problems were rising costs and labor shortages, not unemployment and unpredictable consumer spending. Each component of the music ecosystem had encouraging results. The three majors — Universal Music Group, Sony’s music division and Warner Music Group — had combined revenues of about $25.4 billion, up 19.8%...
Sia Says She’s Behind Popular Snoop Dogg-Affiliated NFT Twitter Account
Sia has come out… as an avid NFT collector. On Tuesday (March 8), the singer-songwriter revealed that she’s behind the NFT Twitter handle @BiancaMedici69, which trades and discusses NFTs with over 13,000 followers. The account owner had been teasing their identity for several days, tweeting on Monday, “It’s been a joy quietly collecting NFTs this last year supporting other artists & causes. And oh what fun being a secret Medici. But I think it may bring more attention to these artists & causes if I went ‘public.’ So Tuesday at 2pm PT, I will dox & reveal my true identity.” Sia revealed her involvement with a tweet from her official account on Tuesday which read, “I am @BiancaMedici69.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news I am @BiancaMed...
Ed Sheeran Sings In London Court to Defend His Authorship of ‘Shape Of You’
LONDON — Ed Sheeran sang a brief burst of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” in London’s High Court on Tuesday (March 8), while giving evidence in a copyright trial over one of his biggest hits. Sheeran is in a legal dispute with songwriters Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch, and Ross O’Donoghue over Sheeran’s 2017 hit single “Shape of You.” Chokri and O’Donoghue argue that the global hit lifts “particular lines and phrases” from their 2015 single “Oh Why” – allegations denied by Sheeran and “Shape of You” co-writers Steven McCutcheon, better known as Steve Mac, and John McDaid. Giving evidence for a second day in a trial expected to last up to three weeks, Sheeran sang parts of “Feeling Good” and his 2013 single “I See Fire,” as well as the “Oh I, Oh I, Oh I” chorus hook from...
‘Euphoria’ Synchs Drive Streaming Gains ‘Unlike Any Other TV Show’
Since its debut in 2018, HBO’s high school drama Euphoria has been a sensation, but when the show came back for its long awaited second season on Jan. 9, 2022, it reached new heights — and helped a handful of hits experience a second spike of popularity along the way. With a viewership doubling over the first three episodes, as Variety reported in February, Euphoria‘s new season quickly became an important vehicle for massive streaming bumps of older tracks. For the show’s music — which pivots from Thelonius Monk or Judy Garland to Lil Xan and 100 Gecs’ Laura Les within a single hour-long episode, all curated by music supervisor Jen Malone and featuring an original score by producer-artist Labrinth — there was a measurable spike in listenership after each episode aired for nearly every s...
