Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA’s Post

“Can we finally call BMG a major label? With the Bertelsmann-owned music company’s revenue having approached $1 billion during 2023, ‘indie’ or ‘publisher’ may no longer be an apt descriptor for the business. Berlin-based BMG’s financials came to light today, in the annual earnings report of its mentioned parent. According to the breakdown, BMG, operating 20 offices across 13 markets, generated €905 million ($980.48 million at the present exchange rate) during 2023, up about 4.6% year over year (YoY).” #BMG #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicLicensing #Distribution #MusicDistribution #MusicPublishing #Digital #Licensing #Artists #Songs #Songwriters #RecordedMusic #Streaming #RecordLabels #MusicStreaming #IndieMusic

Bill Ackman, a major Universal Music Group shareholder, just got richer – and much more ambitious. What might this mean for UMG? MBW Explains is a series of analytical features in which we explore the context behind major music industry talking points – and suggest what might happen next. #Musicbusiness #BillAckman #UniversalMusicGroup

Bertelsmann's recent financial disclosure provides a glimpse into the evolving dynamics of the music industry. Their music division, BMG - The New Music Company, reported an 11.5% YoY revenue growth, amassing €414m for H1 2023. A significant insight is the shift in revenue sources: digital now accounts for 63% of the revenue, down from 69% last year. This decline is attributed to a rise in live revenues in the post-pandemic phase. Additionally, BMG has been aggressively diversifying its portfolio, marking 15 acquisitions in this half alone, including assets from renowned names like The Hollies and Paul Simon. Bertelsmann's overall expenditure on 'intangible assets' for H1 2023 stood at €264m Read The Full Story Here: https://lnkd.in/eAQHvNFE #BMGRevenues #BertelsmannFinancials #PostPandemicGrowth #musically #musicnews #readmore

Yeah... kinda fucked, kinda exciting. https://lnkd.in/eNF8Hbc8 Great round-up piece on the state of play in the core music industry. The barrier to success is actually culture change. The question is whether the legacy businesses can innovate fast enough. Time to be bold and, I'm afraid, pick some internal fights. Time for strong leadership. #musicindustry #musicbusiness #music #businesstransformation #culturetransformation

BMG - The New Music Company’s parent company Bertelsmann has published its annual financial results for 2023 this morning, including figures for its music subsidiary. BMG’s revenues grew by 4.6% to €905m in 2023, with Bertelsmann saying that they were “positively impacted by, among other things, high investments in catalog acquisitions”. BMG’s Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – its operating profit essentially) was €194m, down slightly from €195m in 2022. The report noted that BMG made 30 catalogue acquisitions in 2023 involving musicians ranging from The Hollies and Paul Simon to Jet, Snap! and Martin Solveig. The US accounted for 51.5% of BMG’s revenues last year (down slightly from 53.9% in 2022). There was a small but interesting shift in BMG’s revenue breakdown by category too. Turnover from rights and licences was 88.6% of its revenue in 2023 (down from 92.2% the previous year) while ‘own products and merchandise’ was 10.6% of its 2023 revenue (up from 7.5% in 2022). Read The Full Story Here: https://lnkd.in/da7VTR-r #BMG #MusicIndustry #Financials #musically #musicnews #readmore

New Post: Merck Mercuriadis Exits CEO Role at Hipgnosis Song Management - https://lnkd.in/gawWKmUN - Merck Mercuriadis will step down as chief executive officer of catalog investment advisor Hipgnosis Song Management, the company announced on Friday (Feb. 2). The executive, who spent years managing the careers of artists like Elton John, Beyoncé and Guns N’ Roses before launching Hipgnosis, will transition to a newly created chairman role and will continue to “lead engagement” with industry stakeholders on behalf of the business, it said. Taking on the CEO role will be Ben Katovsky, HSM’s president and chief operating officer since joining the company in October 2022. He boasts almost two decades of experience in the music industry, most recently in a seven-year tenure as chief operating officer at BMG. “One of our most important goals has been to bring an institutional rigor to Hipgnosis Song Management,” Mercuriadis said. “Over the last 16 months, Ben has done an amazing job building the team and HSM’s capabilities to deliver the best possible service to our clients and I’m certain this appointment makes us stronger.” Added Katovsky, “I am proud to be asked to lead HSM through its next chapter, building on all Merck has achieved. In my time in the music industry I haven’t come across anyone who can match his rapport and relationships with songwriters and artists.” Hipgnosis Song Management is the investment advisor for Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the publicly-listed royalty fund with a catalog that includes stakes in songs by Neil Young, Justin Bieber, Journey, Lindsey Buckingham, Blondie, Justin Timberlake and many other artists and writers. HSF capped a turbulent 2023 by lowering the value of its catalog following what new board chair Robert Naylor described to investors as a strained relationship with the Mercuriadis-led HSM over the catalog’s value. A third Hipgnosis, Hipgnosis Songs Capital, is a joint venture between HSF and investment giant Blackstone. It is wrapped in a proposal to acquire 29 catalogs for $440 million to help the public fund reduce its debt and improve its share price. In January, the public fund’s board of directors leveled several complaints against its namesake advisor, calling into question its ability to field competitive bids for its trove of assets. A main sticking point is the investment advisor’s call option — a right to purchase the company’s catalogs if its contract is terminated with less than 12 months’ notice, among other scenarios — which the board contends harms the fund’s ability to receive competitive bids. The fund’s board wants to make the bidding process more attractive and on Jan. 18 announced a proposal to pay bidders a 20-million-pound ($25.4 million) fee to cover due diligence and acquisition costs when they pursue a purchase of HSFs assets. Shareholders will vote Feb. 7 on that

In the world of finance, concepts, and formulas can sometimes seem daunting and complex. That's where you can enter the harmonious Rule of 72, a unique approach that combines the worlds of finance and music, helping investors grasp the concept and achieve their growth goals with ease and creativity. Let's explore how this innovative approach can revolutionize the way we understand and apply the Rule of 72. #ThursdayToday #Tunedlyblog #Tunedly #musicnews #onlinemusic

Putting my ‘old career’ music hat on, this is an excellent article. I’ve long thought that the festival industry and the top end of the live industry are facing a fairly existential crisis that will hit in five years or so from now. The talent pipeline is broken, the number of potential new stadium and festival headliners is dwindling and there’s only so many times the public will pay to see heritage headliners. The stats the live industry were peddling last year about ‘London’s biggest ever summer of live music’ were misleading and dangerous - a combination of the Covid logjam finally cleaning and the hawking of the same old talent. There’s been - and continues to be - major investment in new, bigger venues, but for me the real bell weather for the health of the industry is the 500-2000 cap gig circuit - and you just have to look at that to see all is not well. Fewer and fewer touring artists, lack of label tour support and artists playing with reduced creative ambition as it’s just not possible to fund touring. The nostalgia industry plugs the gaps at all levels - from covers bands and 90s club nights in the venues that used to have shows from new artists several nights a week to the heritage headliners still filling stadiums. But for how long? This is all said from my personal position these days as a consumer rather than protagonist and I’m sure I’m not at the cutting edge of comment here compared to those at the coalface. But I can see clear parallels with the impact of streaming on the BBC stations I used to work for (reduced reach, Radio 1 ‘noughties’ nostalgia shows on daytime) and on the live touring and festival circuits. The day-to-day interface between the public and the ‘old’ suppliers of music - radio and live venues - is broken, either the demand is not there for new music, or the industry is not able to find a way to connect what new music there is with the consumers in a meaningful way, so it falls back on music that *has* built a connection - ie old music. And that, by definition, is about the past, not the future. In short, good luck out there people, the next few years are going to be rough.

💡This is a total no brainer💡 Never forget to flex your independence... As an artist you want to work with the best collaborators possible. As a songwriter you want a bigger share of the value you create. And while major labels resist, this becomes an opportunity for independents to attract amazing talent over to their projects by offering better commercial terms. Old school competitive advantage. Traditional businesses are slow to evolve their models. The Innovators Dilemna. Go all in and maximise the opportunity to move fast until this is the norm. Which it will be. #innovation #businessmodels #musicbusiness https://lnkd.in/ez3mbQas https://lnkd.in/ez3mbQas

When it comes to alternatives, there’s no shortage of new ideas. The investing platform Public is offering an investment based on music from Shrek movies. #investing #alternatives #financialplanning https://lnkd.in/ek_4YFNn