We catch up on the latest music publishing news, including acquisitions, signings, new hires and more.
Deals & Acquisitions
Queen catalog to be acquired by Sony Music in $1.27bn deal (MBW)
That’s according to Hits, which reported that Sony Music has emerged as the winning buyer for Queen’s recording and publishing rights, as well as royalties from previous deals with Disney Music Group and Universal Music Group.
Blackstone switches to ‘best and final’ offer for Hipgnosis Songs Fund (Financial Times)
US private equity group moves to stop hedge funds with stakes in music rights owner from pushing for higher price.
Universal Music Publishing inks exclusive worldwide deal with China’s Cheerful Music (MBW)
Founded in 2019 with its roots in Shenzhen, Cheerful Music’s roster of Chinese songwriters and artists includes Snow. J, Silk Ye, Cindy Dong, KeyKey, Huang Junze C-Jay, He Zhu, Yu Tang, and Reddi.
Signings
Clint Black signs global admin deal with Sony Music Publishing Nashville (Billboard)
The deal encompasses the bulk of Black’s many hits, including “A Good Run of Bad Luck,” “Like the Rain” and “Nothin’ But the Taillights.”
Concord Music Publishing signs Mount Kimbie to global deal (Music Week)
Concord Music Publishing has signed electronic music duo Mount Kimbie to a new worldwide publishing agreement.
Primary Wave Music strikes publishing partnership with alternative rock band Spin Doctors (MBW)
The partnership extends to the administration of the band’s upcoming album, slated for release later this year.
Peermusic signs publishing and sync representation deal with Jessica Vaughn (Music Week)
Peermusic has signed songwriter, recording artist and music executive Jessica Vaughn to an exclusive global publishing agreement.
KT Tunstall signs publishing deal with BMG (Music Week)
The Scottish singer-songwriter announced the deal from the stage of the Ivors at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, where she collected the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.
Warner Chappell signs songwriter, producer and Artemas collaborator Toby Daintree (Music Week)
Daintree has recently made a name for himself as Artemas’ main collaborator, having co-written and co-produced I Like The Way You Kiss Me, as well his mixtape Pretty and the viral single If You Think I’m Pretty.
Otis Redding family taps Sony Music Publishing to administer catalog in U.S. (Billboard)
“Otis’ songs have shaped the cultural landscape across genres and generations,” remarked SMP chief Jon Platt.
Funding, Facts & Figures
US music publishing revenue jumped 10.7% to $6.2bn in 2023 (MBW)
Notably, the increase in music publishing revenue, in percentage terms, was stronger by about half compared to growth in recorded music revenues.
Reservoir Media full-year revenue hits $145M on acquisitions, subscription price hikes (Billboard)
Subscription gains and a string of acquisitions helped Reservoir Media’s fiscal year revenue grow 18% to $144.9 million, beating the company’s guidance from February of $140 million to $142 million.
Royalties & PROs
PRS for Music paid out a record $1.2bn to songwriters, composers and music publishers last year (MBW)
PRS reported that it became “a billion-pound society” last year after collecting £1.08 billion in revenues in 2023, which was up 12.5% YoY and represented a £120.9 million increase compared to 2022.
AI ‘will bring the biggest revolution the creative sector has seen,’ Björn Ulvaeus says in CISAC’s latest annual report (CISAC)
In its latest annual report, the global umbrella group of royalty collection organizations urged rightsholders to “act now” in the face of legal and regulatory uncertainty over the use of copyrighted materials in AI tools.
French collecting society Sacem reports record annual figures (Music Ally)
It collected €1.49bn in 2023 ($1.62bn at current exchange rates) which represented a 5% increase year-on-year. That included 13% growth for its digital collections to €557m.
STIM is latest collecting society to break payout records in 2023 (Music Ally)
Swedish collecting society STIM has published its annual report for 2023, and it was a record-breaking year, just as it was for a number of other societies. STIM paid out $247.8m to publishers, composers and songwriters last year.
Canada’s CMRRA reports 9% increase in royalty payouts for 2023 (MBW)
Legal
Music Publishers file legal complaint against Spotify with Federal Trade Commission, claiming ‘unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices’ (Variety)
The complaint has been filed primarily to oppose Spotify’s recent plan to bundle music and audiobooks, which will result in a lower mechanical royalty rate for songwriters and artists, estimated to be a $150 million annual loss.
Democrat and Republican lawmakers unite to question Spotify bundle move that ‘sharply reduces royalty payments for songwriters’ (MBW)
Three US lawmakers have expressed concern over Spotify‘s recent bundling practices and its potential impact on songwriter compensation.
Spotify sued by the MLC for cutting pay rate to songwriters via premium bundles (MBW)
The MLC argues that by applying the rate formula applicable to Bundles to its Premium subscriptions, Spotify is underpaying royalties due to songwriters and publishers, and that Spotify’s position does not comply with the law.
Songwriters take legal action against PRS For Music over direct licensing for concert royalties (Music Week)
The action aims to overhaul the implementation of procedures and policies, which the group claim are prejudicial to their interests and to the interests of the wider PRS membership.
People
Concord Music Publishing appoints Adam Salomon as Senior Direct of A&R (Music Week)
Salomon has joined from London-based music management company Chosen Music, where he was responsible for leading the A&R department.
Andrew Howell promoted to Vice President of Sync at Warner Chappell Music UK (MBW)
Warner Chappell says he has been instrumental in its Sync department winning multiple awards.
Interesting Reads
CISAC Annual Report: AI battles, international agendas, and ISWC progress (Synchblog)
CISAC, the global umbrella group that represents 225 CMOs, PROs, and other copyright and collection societies around the world, released its annual report on Wednesday, May 22 2024. Check out our key takeaways.
Warner Chappell Music UK’s Andrew Howell on the current sync industry and AI impact (Synchblog)
We sat down with Andrew Howell to delve into the current landscape of the sync industry and discover what makes Warner Chappell Music UK stand out from the rest.
Shani Gonzales of Warner Chappell says that although people are ‘having fun’ with creating AI songs, ‘what happens when someone tries to sell it?’
