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.
This week MBW spotted a data point that further reinforces the observation that indie music companies are on the rise: fully 60% of the top 10 songs globally on TikTok this summer were independently distributed.
Meanwhile, Blackstone‘s takeover of Hipgnosis from its public shareholders continues to be a closely watched event in the music biz. Some had expected Blackstone to trim down Hipgnosis Song Management in the wake of Merck Mercuriadis‘ departure, but that’s proving not to be the case: HSM is on a hiring spree.
Elsewhere in the industry this week, Sony Music announced a new CEO for its Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA) division, with Christoph Behm taking the helm of Sony Music GSA from Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba, effective September 1.
Speaking of new bosses, much has been said about Warner Music Group‘s appointment of the relatively young Elliot Grainge to CEO of Atlantic Music Group. In a new analysis, MBW notes that, for all his youth, Grainge has an impressive track record as a hitmaker.
Finally, Edgar Bronfman Jr., known in the music industry for his stint at the head of Warner, launched a bid this week for control of Paramount Global, throwing a spanner into the planned merger between the studio and Skydance. Paramount has extended its deadline for the Skydance bid to evaluate Bronfman’s bid.
Here’s what happened this week…
1) OVER HALF OF TIKTOK’S BIGGEST GLOBAL TRACKS OF THE SUMMER ARE INDEPENDENTLY DISTRIBUTED
The onward march of the ‘middle class’ of indie artists has been one of the music industry’s biggest talking points this year.
This trend was highlighted in recent months by Luminate stats showing that indies are nibbling into the majors’ streaming market share.
We also told you about K-Pop giant HYBE’s plans to launch an artist services business in the United States, citing “growing demand for change in the traditional business structure in the US market due to its fragmentation”.
Now we’ve discovered that more than half (60%) of the Top 10 songs globally on social media giant TikTok this summer were independently distributed…
2) BLACKSTONE’S HIPGNOSIS IS GETTING READY FOR ITS NEXT PHASE…
It felt like the end of the story. Blackstone officially acquired Hipgnosis Songs Fund from its public shareholders last month for USD $1.584 billion.
The post-acquisition plan was obvious: Blackstone would combine HSF’s 40,000 songs with Blackstone’s privately held Hipgnosis Songs Capital, home to copyrights associated with Leonard Cohen, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Nelly Furtado, and Kenny Chesney.
What was perhaps less clear in the wake of the Blackstone/HSF deal was what would happen to Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM) – the investment adviser to both Hipgnosis’ private fund and the (previously) public entity of Hipgnosis Songs Fund.
Merck Mercuriadis’ exit led some to assume that Blackstone might slim down HSM, as the financial giant looked to take a quieter role in music business rights ownership. That assumption is now looking questionable – because Hipgnosis Song Management is on a hiring spree…
3) SONY MUSIC GERMANY BOSS PATRICK MUSHATSI-KAREBA TO EXIT; CHRISTOPH BEHM NAMED AS NEW CEO FOR GSA REGION
Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba, Sony Music‘s CEO in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (GSA), is departing the company at the end of August.
Sony Music announced the exec’s departure on Monday (August 19).
Mushatsi-Kareba will be replaced by Christoph Behm, who has been promoted to CEO of Sony Music GSA, effective September 1, 2024.
Reporting to Daniel Lieberberg, President, Sony Music Continental Europe and Africa, Christoph Behm will continue to be based in Berlin and will now oversee the GSA region’s strategy and operations…
4) FORMER WARNER MUSIC GROUP BOSS EDGAR BRONFMAN JR. MAKES $4.3BN BID FOR PARAMOUNT
Edgar Bronfman Jr. has submitted a $4.3 billion offer to acquire Paramount Global, aiming to derail the company’s impending merger with Skydance.
That’s according to multiple news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the bid on Monday (August 19).
Bronfman’s proposal includes a $2.4 billion payment to Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, which controls Paramount Global, and a $1.5 billion injection into the company’s balance sheet to reduce debt and maintain investment-grade status, Deadline reported.
Additionally, a $400 million breakup fee would be paid to Skydance, the report said…
5) ON… ELLIOT GRAINGE, MAJOR LABELS, MEGASTARS, AND A NEW ERA AT ATLANTIC MUSIC GROUP
Elliot Grainge’s youth is clearly no obstacle to the faith put in him by Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl and WMG’s board, who announced the other week that he’ll become CEO of Atlantic Music Group in October.
A 30-year-old boss of AMG dramatically reduces the vintage of US major label heads. Grainge is half the age of some of his competitors.
Yes, there’s a nepo-baby discussion to be had. Then again, Grainge has bona fides: at the time WMG invested in Grainge’s 10K Projects in September 2023, his independent label had racked up over 30 platinum-certified hits – from artists like XXXTentacion, Ice Spice, Iann Dior, and Trippie Redd.
10K has since delivered successes at WMG like Artemas (current Spotify monthly listeners: 33.2 million) and Forrest Frank (5.9m)…
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
