Music Ally’s Post

Universal Music Group is on an acquisition spree this week, bolstering its already star-studded catalogue with even more hits and doubling down on its 'superfans' strategy. 📀 Chord Music Partners: Universal Music Group has acquired a 25.8% minority stake in Chord Music Partners for $250 million, valuing Chord at $1.85 billion. This partnership involves UMG and Dundee Partners, forming a long-term strategic alliance to manage Chord's rights globally and potentially acquire more catalogues in the future. Chord was established in 2021 by KKR and Dundee Partners, boasting a portfolio of roughly 60,000 music intellectual properties from renowned artists like The Weeknd, David Guetta, and others. UMG plans to administer Chord's music publishing rights through Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and its recorded music through Virgin Music Group. KKR will exit Chord once the transaction is complete, with the Dundee consortium and UMG owning 74.2% and 25.8%, respectively. 🏪 Complex: Universal Music Group, along with NTWRK, a 'Live Video Shopping' platform, is acquiring a stake in Complex, a youth-oriented media platform. This is the second time that Complex has been acquired in recent years, with it being sold to BuzzFeed for $294 million in November 2021. BuzzFeed confirmed itself that NTWRK (along with a consortium) has agreed to buy Complex Networks for $108.6 million. According to UMG's press release, the acquisition aims 'to create a new destination for “superfan” culture that will define the future of commerce, digital media, and music.' I have always been impressed by UMG's bets on the future and the larger picture, always one step ahead of the curve. I am putting the links to both press releases in the comments below. #MusicBusiness #MusicIndustry #UniversalMusicGroup #Fairplay #Perfunktory

💡 [Kpop Planet Insights] Kakao's Acquisition of SM Chosen as Billboard's Top Global Music Business Deal of 2023 #Billboard has named Kakao's acquisition of SM Entertainment, one of the largest music business deals this year. On December 29, Billboard announced the "10 Biggest Music Business Deals of 2023," stating that Kakao paid approximately $1 billion (about 1.3 trillion won) for a 40% stake in SM Entertainment. Billboard highlighted the fierce competition surrounding the Kakao and HYBE battle over SM shares. The deal coincided with SM's announcement of the "SM 3.0" system, aiming to move away from the founder Lee Soo-man's single leadership structure. The report also mentioned the ongoing conflict between Kakao and HYBE and the suspicion of Kakao manipulating SM stock prices. Additionally, Billboard analyzed HYBE's efforts to diversify its revenue model, mentioning its acquisition of a 51% stake in the shares of Belift Lab, the agency of #ENHYPEN, and the acquisition of AXLAI Music, a label under Axial Content, a powerhouse in the Latin content market. Billboard noted that HYBE displayed noticeable moves to diversify its earnings model instead of heavily focusing on #BTS. Full article: https://lnkd.in/gM_ri7QE 💭 Food for thought: 1. How would Kakao's acquisition of SM Entertainment influence the development of the two companies and the K-pop industry overall? 2. Do you think HYBE's multi-label model would help its artists to expand to the international market? Kakao Entertainment HYBE HYBE LABEL Billboard #acquisition #mergersandacquisitions #businessmodel #businessmodels #btsarmy #bts2023 #kpop #koreanwave #hallyu #koreanculture #koreanmusic #popculture #popmusic #korean #korea #seoul #entertainmenthub #entertainmentindustry #entertainmentbusiness #entertainmentnews #entertainment #musicindustry #musicbusiness #musicbiz #musicnews #music #fandom #softpower 

Universal's Q1 results showcased strong revenue growth, reaching $2.816 billion across all divisions, up 7.9% YoY at constant currency. Recorded music revenues were $2.159 billion, with streaming revenue growing by 12% YoY to $1.59 billion. Physical revenues decreased due to challenging comparisons, while music publishing saw an 18.4% YoY increase to $538.55 million, driven by digital revenue growth. Merchandising and other revenue increased by 7.5% YoY to $123.78 million. UMG's EBITDA grew significantly by 95.2% YoY to $532 million, with an expanded margin. UMG credited its artist-centric approach and strategic planning for these strong results. #UniversalMusicGroup #UniversalMusic

One of the common assumptions around the boom in music-catalogue sales is that it’s all about big investment funds piling in with open wallets to disrupt the traditional ecosystem of music rightsholders. That’s certainly happened, but it’s not the whole story. In fact, what may be more interesting in the future are the partnerships formed between Big Investors and Big Music. Universal Music Group’s announcement yesterday that it is acquiring a minority stake in Chord Music Partners being a case in point. Universal Music Group will pay $240m to acquire a 25.8% interest in Chord, which sprang up in 2021 as a joint venture between investment firms KKR and Dundee Partners, and was used as the vehicle to spend $1.1bn acquiring a catalogue of more than 62,000 songs from Kobalt Capital that year. Fast forward to 2024, and a deal that will see KKR exiting Chord to be replaced by UMG. The deal values Chord at $1.85bn, with UMG owning 25.8% and Dundee Partners owning the other 74.2%. Read Our Full Analysis Here: https://lnkd.in/em3K8WWY #UMG #ChordMusic #MusicBusiness #musically #musicnews #readmore

Universal Music Group (UMG) has struck a 10-year deal with HYBE, the South Korean entertainment powerhouse behind global sensation BTS. This exciting collaboration involves several key aspects. UMG will be investing in HYBE’s Weverse platform to foster a deeper connection between fans and artists, UMG will distribute HYBE’s music globally, and the two companies will join forces on marketing and promotion to propel HYBE’s artists to become more successful in North America. HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk expresses his excitement about the collaboration, “We are certain that this will expand our global footprint, while benefiting our fans, artists, and labels.” It's a win-win for both companies, with UMG gaining access to a rapidly growing fanbase and HYBE leveraging UMG's global network to further solidify its artists' international presence. UMG continues to show that they are making an effort to strengthen the relationship between their artists and their fanbases. We're excited about this renewed focus on super fans and enhancing fan engagement across the music industry. Superfans play a crucial role in an artist's career, and with industry leaders like Hybe, UMG, and With the Band, there's a clear dedication to nurturing artist-fan relationships in today's music landscape. #musicindustry #musicbusiness #fandom #music #fanengagement

It was announced yesterday that Universal Music Group and HYBE have inked a decade-long distribution deal. This partnership reflects the evolving ecosystem where distribution and label roles increasingly intersect, as highlighted in a recent Billboard article posted in mid-March. Notably, this deal doesn’t affect HYBE artists’ music presence on social platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Meta, ensuring their continued dominance in digital spaces as a pivotal piece of the puzzle for marketing and rollout efforts. My two cents on this deal: this will add more fire to glocalization as we continue to see K-pop groups (under HYBE) dominate in US markets and proves that more major labels are looking to get into the distribution game with key partners. What do you think of this move? 👇 https://lnkd.in/gRq7GYKX #musicindustry #umg #hybe #news

The conversation around superfan experiences is becoming increasingly prevalent within the music industry, and for good reason. 🎤🤖   Universal Music Group’s Sir Lucian Grainge recently shed light on the major’s strategy, which is focusing on “growing the pie for all artists by strengthening the artist-fan relationship through superfan experiences and products".   This strategic pivot coincides with the success of Web3 and superfan platforms like Tune.FM, which just secured $20M in funding. The platform allows artists to monetise their superfans directly via streaming royalty micropayments and digital music collectibles.   But the importance of superfans can't be overstated. Goldman Sachs’s latest ‘Music in the Air’ report points to superfan experiences as a crucial growth area for the industry. It outlines a “clearer path towards improved monetisation through more structured, recurring price increases, and better payment terms with emerging platforms".   🚀It seems likely that 2024 will witness more music companies doubling down on investment in superfan experiences.    What are your thoughts on this evolving landscape?   https://lnkd.in/dxdQyJYr   #MusicIndustry #MusicTechnology #Superfans #UMG #GoldmanSachs #TuneFM

"I'm investing in you because you have failed" a startling statement for me. Two things I learnt from this statement. 1. Your little steps will become gigantic steps if you know your onions and make your efforts tangible and visible . "Make evidence de, so you no go explain tire" 2. A chance at success is provided by failure. You start on a fresh page and use pictures of your mistakes as a guide A win for Mavin Records A win for Afrobeats. #linkedindaily #entrepreneurship

In a post-pandemic economy, the live-music industry has continued to display not only strong numbers in attendance, but also a continued fervor and interest from PE, showcasing a counterintuitive vitality in a cooling marketplace of rising interest rates 💹 The following report highlights an exciting acquisition of one of Europe's largest festival operators, Superstruct, by KKR (advised by Goldman Sachs) Key ideas 🌟 1. Fragmenting sectors of music consumption 2. Preference shift from "goods" to "experience"

Every great thing starts small so is the story of Don Jazzy and Mo Hits. Africa has all it takes to build global brands, businesses and organizations because Africans knows how to start small and end big. It is time for every African entrepreneur to build something that can attract global investment or partnership and endorsement. Compliance with regulations set by regulatory bodies must be followed for this to be possible. Great financial accountability is also necessary for investment and partnership basics. I believe that if the process is right the result will be great.