We catch up on this week’s music publishing news, from key deals and signings to new hires, legislation and more.
Deals
Kobalt enters India’s music publishing market via partnership with Turnkey (MBW)
Established in 2013, Turnkey is one of India’s most prominent independent music publishers, working with both copyright owners and independent songwriters.
Warner strikes partnership with Oscar-winning movie company Imagine Entertainment (MBW)
The new partnership gives Imagine, what WMG describes as, “unprecedented” access to its library of music and history across all of WMG’s record labels and its publishing arm.
Slaight Music Signs Admin Rights Deal With Reservoir (FYI Music News)
Reservoir has announced it has struck a deal with Canadian-based music company Slaight Music to become the global administrator of Slaight Music’s catalogue of 800+ copyrights.
Signings
Sony/ATV inks global deal with J. Balvin’s Exec Producer, Sky Rompiendo (MBW)
Sony/ATV Music Publishing has entered into an exclusive multi-year worldwide publishing agreement with five-time Latin Grammy winner, Sky Rompiendo.
Luke Combs Signs Global Deal With Universal Music Publishing (Billboard)
Universal Music Publishing Group has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with country superstar Luke Combs. UMPG said the pact covers all of the singer’s songs going forward, but declined to give any other specifics about the deal.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Signs Bobby Sessions, Freddy Wexler (Variety)
Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced the signing of Bobby Sessions to a global co-publishing deal, and also announced an administration agreement with songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler.
Linus Wiklund signs global publishing deal with Sony/ATV (Music Week)
Sony/ATV Music Publishing has announced a new signed with Swedish songwriter and producer Linus “Lotus IV” Wiklund in a global publishing deal. Wiklund has written for the likes of David Guetta and Rita Ora.
Marisa Monte Signs Global Agreement With Universal Music Publishing (Billboard)
Brazilian star Marisa Monte, the elegant singer, songwriter, producer and instrumentalist known for her distinctive vocals and ability to span multiple genres of Brazilian music, has signed a global administration agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group.
Cooking Vinyl Publishing signs The Waterboys’ Mike Scott (Music Week)
Cooking Vinyl Publishing MD Ryan Farley said: “I’m delighted that Mike has chosen Cooking Vinyl as his publishing partner for the new Waterboys record and welcome him to our family.”
Finance & Investment
Metallica and Co-Manager Joining Multimillion-Dollar Venture Buying Song Catalogs, Other Intellectual Property (Variety)
Worldwired Music IP Fund, headed by former Morgan Stanley investment banker Paul Donahue, will have $300-$500 million, also includes former Fender president Matt Janopaul and ex-Sony/ATV co-president Rick Krim.
Hipgnosis has another $300m to spend on songs, thanks to its biggest fundraise yet (MBW)
Hipgnosis Songs Fund has spent over $1bn on songs since going public two years ago… and now it’s got another £236.4m (approximately $299m) in its acquisition war chest.
How Major Music Companies Are Depending on Debt and Credit to Weather the Pandemic (Billboard)
Live Nation, iHeartMedia, Warner Music and more have boosted liquidity and negotiated with debt holders to survive 2020 and beyond.
Streaming
Spotify rolls out Written By playlists as it expands support for songwriters and publishers (Music Week)
Spotify is rolling out hundreds of songwriter pages and Written By playlists. Spotify recently announced its songwriter pages, which help fans, collaborators and industry partners explore the work of creators behind key songs.
Head of Songwriter and Publishing Relations Jules Parker Explains How Spotify Is Bringing Behind-the-Scenes Creators Into the Spotlight (Spotify)
Jules Parker, Spotify’s Head of Songwriter and Publishing Relations, is heading up a new team across Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and London focused on expanding our support of songwriters and publishers all over the world.
Apple Music’s Dan Adams on supporting songwriters and publishers (Music Week)
Dan Adams, global head of creative services, music publishing at Apple Music, has spoken about how songwriters can benefit from the streaming revolution.
Royalties & PROs
The MLC Announces Tools to Help Self-Administered Songwriters and Publishers “Play Their Part” (The MLC)
By participating in The MLC’s Data Quality Initiative (DQI) or using the Music Data Organization Form, The MLC’s stakeholders can “Play Their Part” in helping The MLC fulfill its important mission of paying royalties accurately and expediently for their benefit.
Why Jeff Tweedy Is Calling for Reparations in the Music Industry (Rolling Stone)
“American culture is Black culture,” says the Wilco frontman. “It is real and it is true that [royalty theft] is an unaddressed crime.”
Legal
Eminem’s Publisher Sues HFA, Alleging it Conspired With Spotify to Skimp on Royalties (Billboard)
On July 1, Eight Mile Style filed an amended complaint alleging that HFA conspired with Spotify to conceal the infringement by backdating Notices of Intention to obtain compulsory mechanical licenses and falsifying royalty documents.
The Case for the CASE Act, Which Provides Streamlined Copyright Protection for Songwriters (Variety)
In this guest column, David Israelite, president & CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners, argues in favor of the CASE Act.
Court grants motion to dismiss Wixen / Pandora complaint (Music Ally)
In June 2019, Wixen Music Publishing sued streaming service Pandora, alleging ‘unauthorized commercial exploitation’ of lyrics from songs in its catalogue.
Interesting Reads
Vick Bain on the music industry’s gender pay gap problem (Music Week)
Former BASCA CEO and diversity consultant Vick Bain analyses the trends and calls on the industry to act now…
Digital Disruption and Music Economics With Former Spotify Chief Economist Will Page (Chartmetrics)
Will Page, Chief Economist at Spotify from 2012 to 2019, talks to Chartmetric about digital disruption and music economics on this episode of How Music Charts.
Recovery Economics: Mark Mulligan on the New Starting Line (Music Tectonics)
After gathering and analysing the resulting data, Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research offers his insights and predictions for the future of streaming, live events, and the unexpected blooming of new use cases for music.
Downtown Music Hosting Virtual ‘Summer School’ Classes in Lieu of Traditional Internships (Billboard)
Slated for the week of July 27, the program will offer participants the opportunity to take remote classes on a number of music-related topics.
How the music business is faring amid the COVID-19 pandemic (LA Times)
Coronavirus has cut into the growth of digital streaming, which slowed significantly after widespread stay-at-home orders went into effect in mid-March.
Music Tech Investor Perspectives During The Pandemic And Recession: Arabian Prince Of N.W.A (Forbes)
Arabian Prince has been a well-known name in music for more than four decades and is now receiving recognition for his work as an entrepreneur and investor in entertainment.
Subscribe
Get the latest Synchblog posts + key industry news in your inbox every week. Subscribe now.
