Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.
Live Nation‘s acquisition of LA-based talent management firm Timeline has highlighted the fact that the concert and ticketing giant is also a major player in talent management. And Timeline’s involvement with online influencers potentially opens a new avenue for Live Nation to promote its shows and artist management clients…
On the other side of the Pacific, HYBE-owned label ADOR filed a lawsuit against K-pop group NewJeans. The lawsuit followed the group’s announcement a week earlier that it plans to leave ADOR. The label argues that NewJeans don’t have the ability to cancel their contract unilaterally.
Elsewhere, Craig Peters, the CEO of Getty Images, penned an op-ed for Fortune this week criticizing AI developers’ copyright thievery.
Also this week, TikTok revealed its lists of the biggest musical tracks and artists on the platform this year. The company said that 13 of the 16 tracks that hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 were linked to trends on TikTok.
Finally, MBW looked back at this year’s biggest music deals. The year was dominated by private equity investments and large issuances of securities backed by music assets. On the catalog acquisition side, Sony Music dominated with a number of blockbuster deals.
Here’s what happened this week…
1) LIVE NATION JUST MAJORITY-ACQUIRED A HOLLYWOOD INFLUENCER MANAGEMENT COMPANY. HERE’S WHY THAT MATTERS.
Live Nation is a live music promotion and ticketing giant, but it also runs a powerhouse talent management business.
Indeed, the Michael Rapino-led company claimed in its 2023 annual report to be “one of the world’s leading artist management companies based on the number of artists represented.”
On Tuesday (December 3), Live Nation revealed the latest addition to its talent management operation: It’s acquired a majority stake in Timeline – described by LN as one of Los Angeles’ “premier talent management firms.”
Timeline specializes in “young Hollywood and influencer talent.” The acquisition of a majority stake in Timeline is a significant development for Live Nation, given the rise and power of influencer marketing on social media platforms…
2) HYBE’S ADOR LABEL FILES LAWSUIT OVER NEWJEANS DEAL DISPUTE, SAYS K-POP GROUP’S EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT ‘CANNOT BE UNILATERALLY TERMINATED’
Courtesy of ADOR
ADOR, a subsidiary of K-pop powerhouse HYBE, has filed a lawsuit to prevent girl group NewJeans from terminating their exclusive contract, escalating a high-stakes dispute in the South Korean music industry.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday (December 3) with the Seoul Central District Court, challenges the group’s recent attempt to leave the label, with ADOR asserting that the existing contract remains legally binding and cannot be unilaterally terminated.
“Although we did not wish to seek legal intervention with the artist, we decided that it was necessary to clarify to both the artist and all relevant stakeholders that our exclusive contract cannot be unilaterally terminated based solely on the claims of one side,” ADOR said in a statement sent to MBW.
The lawsuit follows a press conference held by NewJeans on November 28, where the group publicly announced their intention to exit ADOR. Group member Hanni claimed the label “has neither the ability nor the will to protect” the members, citing psychological distress and a “breach of trust…”
3) TIKTOK REVEALS ITS TOP SONGS OF 2024; SAYS THAT 13 OF 16 NO.1 HITS IN THE US THIS YEAR ARE LINKED TO TRENDS ON ITS PLATFORM
TikTok has long promoted itself as a major driver of music discovery, and its Year-End Music Report for 2024 reiterates this theme.
According to TikTok, 13 of the 16 tracks that reached No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 were in some way linked to a trend on the platform.
Additionally, 10 of the 11 tracks to hit No.1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart were boosted by TikTok popularity, the report suggested.
“In 2024 TikTok truly became the music industry’s primary launchpad for music, artists and creativity,” Ole Obermann, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Development, said in a statement…
4) THE CEO OF GETTY IMAGES JUST DELIVERED A PUBLIC SMACKDOWN TO AI COPYRIGHT THIEVERY
In a scathing op-ed published by Fortune this week, the CEO of photography agency Getty Images, Craig Peters, criticized the argument that using copyrighted content available on the internet to train AI without permission is ‘fair use’ under copyright law.
He advocates instead for a nuanced approach to assessing fair use, supporting AI’s potential for societal good without undermining the creative industries – including music.
Peters’ piece concludes with the argument that there “is a fair path that rewards creativity and delivers the promises of AI”.
He adds: “Let’s stop the rhetoric that all un-permissioned AI training is legal and that any requirement to respect the rights of creators is at the expense of AI as a technology…”
5) THE 21 BIGGEST MUSIC BUSINESS DEALS OF 2024: FROM IRVING AZOFF TO DADDY YANKEE, HIPGNOSIS, AND QUEEN
Pictorial Press / Alamy
As the value of music companies and copyrights continues to grow, so do the deals being made in the industry – and the involvement in private equity in those transactions.
In monetary terms, the biggest deal of 2024 (so far, anyway) came courtesy of PE firm Hellman & Friedman, which struck a ten-figure agreement to acquire a stake in Irving Azoff’s US-based PRO Global Rights Management (GRM).
Another aspect of the music industry that’s grown rapidly in 2024 is the securitization of music assets. This year saw a number of major asset-backed securitizations from music copyright holders, including Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Concord, and Kobalt.
On the catalog deals side, Sony Music dominated 2024, buying all or parts of the catalogs of Queen, Pink Floyd, and Michael Jackson…
MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.Music Business Worldwide
