Morning Fix: WMG To Bid on Sony/ATV’s Rosetta (Report); Joel Klaiman to Columbia; What Spotify’s Valuation Means; Bandpage Expands
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BUSINESS MATTERS: A $3 BILLION VALUATION BRINGS SPOTIFY EXPECTATIONS BACK TO EARTH: News that Spotify raised money at a $3 billion valuation and generated $200 million in revenue in the first half of 2012 is more like the sound of air being let out of a tire rather than a bursting bubble. The company has been hyped more than any other in the subscription-music space — deservedly so — and expectations needed to brought back to reality. |
UMG’S MAX HOLE DISCUSSES COMPANY’S PLANS FOR EMI: Universal Music Group International COO Max Hole, speaking at a media conference for the industry’s Investing in Music report at the London headquarters for international trade body IFPI, discussed UMG’s plans for the newly acquired EMI Music which includes decentralizing control of EMI”s labels (including Capitol and Virgin Records) and to focus on emerging markets. |
AEG, STUBHUB PARTNERSHIP BRINGS BENEFITS FAR BEYOND SECONDARY TICKETING: A deal that pairs AEG and StubHub — the world’s second-biggest concert promoter and the world’s second-biggest e-commerce company — could unlock value for artists, managers and the promoter, and further legitimize secondary ticketing. |
MUSIC VETS LAUNCH LATIN SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME: The Miami-based organization, being led by award-winning producer and songwriters Desmond Child and Rudy Pérez along with a board of directors, will announce five inductees on April 23 during the same week as the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards in Miami. |
JOEL KLAIMAN NAMED COLUMBIA RECORDS EXECUTIVE VP/GM: SOURCES: In the ongoing tit-for-tat executive shuffle between Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, Joel Klaiman is being named Columbia Records executive VP/GM, sources confirm to Billboard.biz. It looks like Klaiman will help fill a void left by the pending departure of Columbia Records co-chairman/COO Steve Barnett, who sources say will become the head of the Capitol Records Group after his Columbia contract expires. |
BANDPAGE REACHES BEYOND FACEBOOK WITH BANDPAGE CONNECT: The San Francisco start-up is launching BandPage Connect, a tool that lets artists update their photos, videos, songs, tour dates and other information on BandPage, which the automatically makes the changes to the artists’ multiple profiles across the web. “We think of it as a live wire between the band and all of their mobile and Web services,” BandPage chief executive J Sider says. |
WARNER MUSIC BIDDING FOR SONY/ATV’S ROSETTA CATALOG: Warner Music Group is reportedly bidding on a Sony/ATV music publishing catalog with the rights to some 30,000 songs. The Rosetta catalog, which is heavy on ’80s hits from artists like Bryan Ferry, Devo and Tears for Fears, has reportedly already attracted a slew of suitors, which includes BMG Rights Management; G2 Investment Group; and Primary Wave. The latest bids are due on Nov. 19, according to a source.
New York Post
BERTELSMANN FINANCIALS FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS RISE DESPITE EURO CRISIS: German media giant Bertelsmann on Tuesday delivered solid third-quarter results that boosted its financials for the first nine months of 2012. Revenue was up 5.7 percent to $14.5 billion (€11.4 billion) and profit improved to $672 million (€528 million) from €377 million a year earlier. Bertelsmann co-owns BMG Rights Management which is reported to be in the hunt form UMG and Sony/ATV’s divestments following their acquisitions of EMI’s assets.
The Hollywood Reporter
BPI SAYS GOOGLE’S MUSIC POSITION ‘DOESN’T MAKE SENSE’:The British Phonographic Institute (BPI) which represents the UK’s biggest record labels says it “doesn’t make sense” for Google not to tackle piracy when it’s launching a new, legal music service. Google says it wants its new music service, Google Play Music, to wipe out piracy on Android devices, but the BPI claims the firm is not keeping its promise to make it harder to find illegal download sites. Google announced in August a new way of calculating results would take into account the number of “valid copyright removal notices” sites had received.
BBC
RECORD LABELS INVESTED $4.5 BILLION IN A&R, MARKETING IN 2011: A new Investing in Music report from music-industry trade body the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry was released yesterday explaining that record companies invested $4.5 billion in A&R and marketing in 2011 — of which $2.7 billion was invested in A&R exclusively — and is far more than comparable industries invest in research and development.
Billboard.biz
FROM THIS WEEK’S BILLBOARD: KID ROCK RIDES WITH ITUNES: Until recently, the multi-platinum self-proclaimed American Bad Ass remained one of the last high-profile iTunes holdouts, preferring to keep his music inside shiny jewel cases and off of Apple’s giant retailer. Now, Kid Rock is changing his tune.
Billboard.biz
BLUR’S DAMON ALBARN TO APPEAR ON EVERY BBC STATION AT ONCE:Damon Albarn has created an ‘audio collage’ to be simultaneously broadcast on every BBC radio station in the UK and worldwide to mark 90 years of radio. The simulcast, named Radio Reunited, will reach a potential global audience of 120 million people across every inhabited continent. The three-minute transmission based on recorded messages submitted by listeners around the world on the theme of the future .
NME
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