We catch up on this week’s music publishing news, from key deals and signings to new hires, legislation and more.
Deals and Signings
Justin Bieber Collaborator Poo Bear Signs Global Publishing Deal With Peermusic (Variety)
Orchestrating the deal was Peermusic’s chair and CEO Ralph Peer, deputy CEO Mary Megan Peer, president and COO Kathy Spanberger and vice president of A&R Tuff Morgan.
Dave renews global deal with Warner Chappell Music (Music Week)
Warner Chappell Music has announced the renewal of its global partnership with Dave. The news comes ahead of the BRIT Awards next week, where the UK rapper is up for four trophiesand will perform at the ceremony.
IMPEL signs licensing deal with Amazon Music (Music Week)
IMPEL has signed a licensing deal with Amazon for its music streaming services in Europe. IMPEL is the international collective licensing agency representing digital music publishing rights.
Mariah Carey Moves to ASCAP (Billboard)
“ASCAP’s dedication to songwriters and our craft is one of the many reasons I was drawn to this community,” said Carey in a statement released Wednesday (Feb. 11).
Acquisitions and Investments
Primary Wave Buys Gasoline Alley’s Publishing & Master Royalty Streams, Including Sublime Hits (Billboard)
Primary Wave Music Publishing has acquired the music publishing and master royalty streams of Gasoline Alley, Inc., the entity owned by veteran music managers and music executives Arnold Stiefel and Randy Phillips.
Facts and Figures
Publishers Quarterly: Sony/ATV Leads, While Lizzo Lifts Warner Chappell and Kobalt (Billboard)
Sony/ATV finished 2019 strong, holding on to the top spot in market share for both the Top Radio Airplay and Hot 100 Songs charts, thanks to Lewis Capaldiand Post Malone.
France’s music publishing sector was worth over $450m in 2018 (MBW)
That’s according to the latest figures published by the country’s music publishing trade associations, The CSDEM and the CEMF, in their “Barometer of music publishing” report for 2017-2018.
UMG is now an $8bn-a-year company, as streaming revenues surge 21.5% in record 2019 (MBW)
Looking specifically at music publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, led by Chairman and CEO Jody Gerson, continued its rise, with annual revenues now comfortably in excess of $1bn at €1.05bn ($1.18bn).
Streaming
Spotify launches ‘songwriter pages’ feature in beta (Music Ally)
Spotify is launching a new feature aimed at songwriters, giving them their own profile pages on the streaming service, complete with playlists of recordings of their songs.
Royalties
IMRO announces new Concertify royalties technology for creators (Music Week)
The Irish Music Rights Organisation has adopted technology platform Concertify to help speed up payments made to songwriters, composers and music publishers.
Nordic Firms Teosto and Session Lead European Push for Faster Royalty Payments (Billboard)
A small performance-rights organization from Finland is at the forefront of a European push to pay rights-holders faster by processing performance royalties in near real-time.
Hirings and Promotions
Downtown ups Andrew Sparkler to EVP, Global Business Development amidst raft of promotions and new hires (MBW)
Downtown Music Holdings has recently expanded its business development and operations teams with several key promotions and strategic hires, the company announced today.
Legal
The Music Licensing Collective (MLC) / Unclaimed Royalties Study: What’s the Deal? (Synchblog)
Monica Corton reviews the Unclaimed Royalties Study, Kickoff Symposium held in December, and raises questions surrounding the successful implementation of the Music Licensing Collective.
Interesting Reads
How Wise Music Group is changing the publishing game (Music Week)
“We’ve got continuity. We like working with people over a longer term. We give people a chance to breathe and we support them,” said managing director David Holley of the company, which represents Philip Glass and Ludovico Einaudi, among others, and has worked with Rufus Wainwright and The National’s Bryce Dressner.
Spotify Songwriter Pages Sparks Interest – Now When Will Royalties Improve? (Forbes)
Spotify’s beta launch of Songwriter Pages this week is the streaming company’s latest attempt at appeasing the songwriter community. First came Secret Genius and Liner Notes. Does the latest release make a stronger statement in support of creators?
What UMG’s IPO Means for the Business of Music (MIDiA Research)
Investors of all sizes are either already invested in the music business or are looking for a route in, and UMG just gave them a new, very attractive option. But where is all this heading? How far can it go? And what are the implications for the business of music itself?
This Fortnight in Music Supervision and Sync (09/02/20) – GMS Awards Winners, Oscars Music, Super Bowl Syncs & More (Synchblog)
We run through the latest in sync licensing and music supervision over the past fortnight, including the latest industry news, advice, and deals.
‘Downtown is an ideal combination of technology and creativity, with an international mindset built in its DNA.’ (MBW)
Downtown Music Publishing’s Laura Bedikian and Charles Braud give MBW an insight into France’s publishing sector and the company’s position in the market…
