acquisition
The founders of indie label group [PIAS] have announced they are selling the remaining shares they hold in the company to Universal Music Group (UMG), making the music giant the firm’s majority shareholder.
In an announcement on Tuesday (Oct. 15), Kenny Gates said he and his [PIAS] co-founder Michel Lambot were selling their shares to UMG, which acquired a 49% stake in the company in 2022, to “allow us to offer a truly global distribution and services platform to the independent music community.”
Financial terms were not revealed for the deal, which expands upon a strategic global partnership between the two companies that began in 2021. When UMG acquired the 49% stake in [PIAS] for an undisclosed sum the following year, Gates and Lambot retained majority control of the company.
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Ownership of [PIAS] now appears to be fully in the hands of UMG, although representatives of the European indie label group and UMG declined to expand upon the information contained in Tuesday’s press release.
Details that have been confirmed as part of the new arrangement include the merger of Virgin Music Group and [PIAS]’s services division [Integral], which provides physical and digital distribution services to more than 100 indie label partners including ATO, Beggars Group and Secretly Group.
The newly combined teams will provide “independent entrepreneurs with world class services and access to a bespoke, stand-alone international distribution network,” said [PIAS]. Reps for the firm and UMG declined to comment when asked if the merger would result in any job losses.
The [PIAS] Label Group, which includes the indie labels Play It Again Sam, harmonia mundi, Spinefarm, Source and partner imprints such as ATO, Heavenly, Mute and Transgressive, will remain completely autonomous, said the company. Artists signed to or distributed by those labels include Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Kneecap, Sofiane Pamart, Sleep Token, Arlo Parks and Black Pumas.
“I am selling my shares not my soul,” said Gates, who will remain CEO of [PIAS] and sit on the Virgin Music Group main board and advisory group, in a statement.
“Since agreeing [to] a strategic alliance with UMG in 2021 we have found them to be supportive and engaged partners who have added real value to our offering,” continued Gates, describing the decision to relinquish the founders’ remaining shareholdings in [PIAS] as a “pragmatic one.”
The company’s existing leadership team will continue to steer day-to-day operations “and nothing will change culturally or commercially for our existing clients and partners,” said Gates, who co-founded [PIAS] with Lambot in Brussels, Belgium, in 1983.
Lambot said that despite initially having “some concerns” about partnering with UMG in 2021, the experience has surpassed his expectations.
“Our relationship to date has been fruitful, convivial and everything we hoped it would it be,” he said. “This new phase, which will see us working even closer together promises to be an exciting new era for [PIAS], our staff, our partners and the artists we represent.”
“I’ve known Kenny and Michel for decades, beginning in the 80s when we were all signing bands from emerging scenes in Europe,” added Lucian Grainge, chairman/CEO of UMG, in a statement.
“Since that time, Kenny and Michel have built [PIAS] into a company that stands for authenticity and the best in independent music,” Grainge added. “And it is those qualities that are not only important to me personally but that also make [PIAS] a perfect fit for UMG’s entrepreneurial and creative culture.”
“We are delighted by all that’s been accomplished over the past three years together, and we look forward to working with Kenny and Michel and their entire team, including their family of artists and labels, to further build [PIAS]’s legacy,” said UMG executive vp/CFO/president of operations Boyd Muir. “Their experience and insights have significantly helped to grow this dynamic area of our business. Completing the acquisition of [PIAS] Label Group and [Integral] reinforces our best-in-class label services operations and enhances our ability to support the independent artist and label community globally.”
Primary Wave Music has acquired the producer royalty and neighboring rights royalty streams for artist manager, music critic, and record producer Jon Landau.
This deal includes Landau’s points and neighboring rights royalties to songs by Bruce Springsteen, whom he worked with as a co-producer for Born To Run, The River, Darkness on the Edge of Town, The Promise, Born in the U.S.A., Live 1975-1985, Human Touch, Lucky Town and Tracks. The deal also entails his producer and neighboring rights royalties for his production on Jackson Browne’s The Pretender.
A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Landau was a pivotal figure in rock music during his decades-long career. Landau got his start writing about music for publications like Crawdaddy and The Boston Phoenix and by 1967 he was hired by Jann Wenner as the lead writer for the brand new Rolling Stone publication, a position he held for a decade.
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By 1970, Landau was simultaneously writing for Rolling Stone and getting back to his roots as a lifelong musician by producing MC5’s studio album debut Back In The USA.
He got to know Springsteen in 1974 after he reviewed a performance by the singer-songwriter and called him the “future” of rock music. The following year, he co-produced Born To Run, cementing both his relationship with The Boss and his career as a producer. He would go on to co-produce eight more of his records. During this time, he also befriended Browne and produced 1976’s The Pretender, featuring songs like “Here Come Those Tears Again” and the title track.
Two decades later, Landau experienced another career peak as the manager for Shania Twain. He helped build the country-pop artist’s career, leading her to true super stardom with her 1997 album Come On Over, featuring the song “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “You’re Still The One.”
Landau has also worked with artists like Natalie Merchant, Train, Alejandro Escovedo, Livingston Taylor and more.
“I thank all at Primary Wave for recognizing my contributions over the last fifty years and look forward to having an ongoing and productive relationship with them,” says Landau of the deal.
Marty Silverstone, president of global synch at Primary Wave, adds: “We’re honored to be partnering with Jon Landau and all of the legendary music he helped shape. He’s an influential figure in music, and we’re proud to welcome him to the Primary Wave family.”
The transaction between Landau and Primary Wave Music was facilitated by David Simone and Winston Simone.
The consortium acquiring French music company Believe increased its holdings to 94.99% of share equity at the conclusion of the tender offer, the company announced Monday (June 25). That marks a nearly 10% increase from the 85.04% of shares the consortium held a week earlier.
Led by CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, who founded Believe in 2005 to take advantage of the rapidly evolving digital music business, the consortium purchased 19.6 million shares at 15.00 euros ($16.10) per share during the offer, which ran from June 3 to June 21. Combined with blocks of shares previously acquired from investors, the consortium now holds 95.6 million of the 100.7 million shares outstanding. The free float — shares owned by minority investors — is 5.01%. The consortium, which also includes major shareholders EQT and TCV, commands 106.5 million of 113 million — 94.29% — of Believe’s voting rights.
While the consortium does not plan on executing a mandatory squeeze-out for shares not tendered by minority shareholders, because the free float — shares not held by insiders that can be publicly traded — has fallen under 15%, Believe will be de-listed from some stock indexes.
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Also on Monday, Believe announced the appointment of Andrew Fisher, a new director representing EQT, after venture capital firm Ventech sold its shares to the consortium and lost a director. Fisher’s ratification will go to a vote in the 2024 annual general meeting. The board additionally appointed two observers: Michael Kalfayan, general partner at TCV, and Nicolas Brugère, partner at EQT.
The consortium announced a takeover bid for Believe in February at 15.00 euros ($16.10), which represented a 21% premium over the prior closing price. According to an offer document, the consortium wants to take over the company “so that it can better execute on its value-creation plan and accelerate the scale-up of an independent player supporting artists and label clients” and “further grow and consolidate its position as a leader in the French and European markets.”
After the Believe board of directors backed the takeover bid on April 19, the consortium purchased a large block of shares from venture capital firms XAnge and Ventech. Before the acquisitions, TCV was the biggest shareholder with 41.1% of share capital, while Ladegaillerie owned 12.5%, private equity firm Ventech owned 12.0%, XAnge owned 6.3% and roughly 3.8% of shares were held by a strategic holding fund and in treasury shares. Free float was 24.4%.
Warner Music Group briefly looked at acquiring Believe in March and estimated a bid of “at least” 17 euros ($18.24) per share, which would have valued the company at 1.65 billion euros ($1.8 billion). But the pursuit was short-lived; Warner dropped out of the running in April.
Global investment firm KKR has agreed to acquire the European festivals organizer Superstruct Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners, it was announced on Friday (June 21). Superstruct — which organizes Sziget, the Budapest music festival that’s one of Europe’s largest, and Wacken Open Air, the world’s largest heavy metal festival held in Germany — was founded […]
Twitch signed music licensing deals with all three major labels — Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment — as well as “a large number” of indie labels represented by Merlin, according to a blog post. The deals specifically cover DJs who live-stream on the platform; other uses of music are not covered.
Under the deals, starting this summer, DJs will need to opt into a new agreement that will apply to all streaming on their Twitch channels. Thereafter, a portion of DJs’ earnings on the platform will be paid to music companies, with the majority of those earnings subject to a 50-50 split between DJs and Twitch. To help DJs adjust to the change, Twitch says it will offer a one-year subsidy to help cover the difference in revenue that will be paid out to music companies, with the amount of the subsidy gradually reducing over time.
“It’s crucial that DJs understand the status quo on Twitch was not sustainable, and any viable future for the community required we find a solution,” the blog post reads. “We’ve worked with music partners over the past few years to develop this program. Without it, those who stream DJ content on Twitch without the necessary rights do so at the risk of receiving DMCA notifications and copyright penalties which could restrict their ability to stream on Twitch.”
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According to Twitch, the number of DJs streaming on the platform has “more than quadrupled” since early 2020.
Tencent and its subsidiary Tencent Music Entertainment acquired a 10% stake in Thailand-based entertainment platform GMM Music for $70 million, valuing the company at $700 million. The stake will be paid for with a combination of cash and a minority stake in the Tencent-owned music streaming app JOOX Thailand. According to a press release, the deal “will strengthen GMM Music’s spin-off plan” and allow it “to expand its business, achieve sustainable growth, acquire world-class expertise, and invest in future music innovations to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the global music industry.” In a statement, GMM Music CEO Phawit Chitrakorn said the deal will help the company “drive the New Music Economy in Thailand towards sustainable growth” while allowing it to expand its business in additional markets, including China.
Neon Gold Records, the independent label known for launching the careers of artists including Tove Lo, Charli XCX and MARINA, signed a global distribution agreement with Virgin Music Group. Recent releases from Neon Gold include Good Neighbours’ debut single “Home” (now receiving global support from Capitol and Polydor) and Mt. Joy’s “Highway Queen”; other acts on the roster include The Knocks and Juliana Madrid. The label also revealed its newest signing: alt-pop band Phantogram, whose new single, “All a Mystery,” was released May 31. Neon Gold previously had joint ventures with Columbia (2010-2013) and Atlantic (2014-2024).
Bandcamp partnered with EMPIRE in a deal that will allow the independent record label to expand retail opportunities for its artists, who include Shaboozey, Key Glock, Conway the Machine, Dinner Party, Olamide, Asake and Black Sherif. With the deal, EMPIRE artists will now have the ability to connect with Bandcamp’s community of more than 47 million fans, to whom they can directly sell digital releases, vinyl and exclusive merchandise through the Bandcamp platform.
L.A.-based record label D36, which centers on aspiring musicians from South Asia and its diaspora, formed a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment. Through the joint venture, acts of South Asian heritage will better be able to connect with audiences in both South Asia and international markets, including the United States. D36 is run by CEO Abhi Kanakadandila and GM/co-founder Abdullah Ahmad.
The U.K.-based Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) partnered with KUVO Powered by DJ Monitor to help foster the adoption of KUVO’s music identification technology in U.K. venues — all in hopes of ensuring proper royalty payouts for creators of the music DJs play. According to a press release, NTIA will work to make KUVO’s technology “standard practice across the U.K. club and DJ events industry…with a focus on building towards a more transparent and fair music royalty ecosystem within the UK.” There is no cost for venues to participate in the initiative and there will be no effect on the license fees venues pay for music. It also “respects DJ setlist privacy — no details of which DJ played which tracks are captured by the technology and no playlists are publicised,” the release adds.
Downtown Artist & Label Services officially partnered with AI-powered marketing operating system SymphonyOS to offer SymphonyOS marketing tools to Downtown artists at a reduced price. The deal was struck after Downtown ran multiple successful SymphonyOS-driven campaigns with artists including Hunter Hayes, mehro and Ryan Nealon. SymphonyOS offers AI-powered campaign creation, aggregated analytics, a website builder tool and features including Forever Saves, which allows fans to “subscribe” to an artist’s future releases.
1336 Records, a new label venture from System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian, launched in partnership with Sumerian Music Group. The first release under the deal is “Paradise,” the debut single from Seven Hours After Violet — Odadjian’s new band also featuring Taylor Barber (Left To Suffer), Morgoth (Winds of Plague), Alejandro Aranda (Scarypoolparty) and Josh Johnson.
SURF Music — a platform that allows songwriters, producers and other creators to connect, collaborate, package, pitch and sell their original unreleased music to Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese labels and A&R professionals — has welcomed Universal Music Japan, Sony Japan, Avex and Fujipacific to the platform as official users. By joining SURF Music, the labels will have the ability to explore SURF’s marketplace of unreleased demos using AI-supported search tools.
VNYLab, a new music platform designed to bring independent artists closer to their fans, acquired Patron Empowerment, the developer of the similar Rhythmic Rebellion platform. The multi-million-dollar deal will accelerate the growth of VNYLab, which is set to officially debut this summer. VNYLab was founded by Jon Zeit, Wes Mason and Nikki Fernandez. Patron Empowerment founder/CEO Greg Allen has joined VNYLab as a partner.
Ford signed a 10-year naming rights agreement with Notes Live for a new music amphitheater coming to Colorado Springs, Colo. The 8,000-capacity venue, formerly known as The Sunset and now called Ford Amphitheater, is set to open on Aug. 9 with a performance by Ryan Tedder and his band OneRepublic.
CTS Eventim completed the acquisition of Vivendi’s festival business and ticketing company, See Tickets, for 300 million euros ($327 million), Vivendi announced Thursday (June 6). The German concert promoter and ticketing company had entered into a put option to acquire the businesses from Vivendi on April 2.
The acquisition includes such festivals as the Junction 2 in the United Kingdom and Garorock in France. Vivendi’s performance hall business, See Tickets France and Brive Festival in France, were not included in the deal.
The two acquired businesses had 137 million euros ($148 million) of revenue in 2023. See Tickets, which counts Glastonbury Festival and Tomorrowland as clients, had revenue of 105 million euros ($114 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation (EBITDA) of 26 million euros ($28 million). The festival business had revenue of 32 million euros ($35 million).
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The acquisition will provide a big boost to CTS Eventim’s existing ticketing sales. In 2023, Vivendi’s ticketing business sold 44 million tickets in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United States and its largest market, the United Kingdom. That was roughly half of CTS Eventim’s 2023 internet ticket volume of 82.9 million tickets, according to the company’s 2023 annual report.
“The acquisition supports our internationalization strategy and will also benefit artists and their managers, as we will be able to offer even more seamless services on a global scale,” said CTS Eventim chief executive Klaus-Peter Schulenberg in a statement announcing the acquisition in April.
CTS Eventim’s ticketing business had revenue of 717.3 million euros ($776 million) in 2023, up 32% from the prior year, with EBITDA of 382.4 million euros ($414 million), up 47%. Its concert promotion business had revenue of 1.67 billion euros ($1.8 billion) and EBITDA of 111.6 million euros ($121 million).
Talent agency Wasserman has completed the acquisition of United Kingdom-based CSM Sport & Entertainment, expanding Wasserman’s service offerings and geographic footprint in the sports, music, entertainment and culture industries. CSM will continue to operate independently through the end of the year before fully integrating with Wasserman in 2024. The deal expands Wasserman’s reach and network […]
Reach Music has acquired master and publishing rights to Judas Priest‘s first two records, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny from Gull Entertainments. As part of their new purchase, Reach will work alongside the British metal legends to release a 50th anniversary edition of Rocka Rolla in 2024 as well as other special projects. This deal builds upon Reach’s existing relationship with the band — in 2021, Reach acquired a 50% copyright interest and the administration rights to guitarist Glenn Tipton’s song catalog, beginning with songs released in 1977.
Reservoir has launched a joint venture with American Idol producer, 19 Entertainment, which is part of Sony Pictures Television and already partnered with BMG on the master side. Through their new jv, the two will jointly sign new publishing deals with some of Idol’s contestants, and Reservoir will aid in the young writers’ development.
Peermusic Australia has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Sydney-based hip-hop/rock crossover group Triple One. The agreement includes both Triple One’s full back catalog as well as future works.
Position Music has signed artist and songwriter Sam Tinnesz to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes some selected catalog cuts as well as all of Tinnesz future releases, including those made under his artist project and those made as a songwriter.
Prescription Songs has signed Nashville-based artist and writer Josie Dunne. As an artist she played alongside artists like Julia Michaels, COIN, Ben Rector, and Andy Grammer. As a writer, she’s create songs with Natalie Imbruglia, Corook, Spencer Sutherland, and more. She was brought into the roster by A&R Chris Martingnago.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a global publishing deal with country sibling trio Voth. The deal was signed just ahead of their next single “You Own It,” out April 28th.
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