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By raising prices and cutting costs, Spotify has transformed into the kind of profitable company investors always hoped it could become, and the streamer’s upbeat second-quarter earnings on Tuesday (July 23) led its share price to jump 9.1% to $321.87 this week.
After Spotify announced it grew revenues by 20%, improved its gross margin and beat guidance on new subscriber additions, a slew of analysts raised their price targets, including Goldman Sachs (from $320 to $425), JP Morgan (from $375 to $425), Rosenblatt (from $396 to $399), Pivotal Research (from $400 to $460), Barclays (from $350 to $360), Cowen (from $273 to $356) and B of A Securities (from $380 to $430).
Universal Music Group (UMG), the other music company that released earnings this week, had the opposite reaction from investors when its second-quarter subscription revenue fell far short of analysts’ expectations, leading its share price to drop 24.1% to 21.34 euros ($23.17). But it wasn’t all bad news: Overall revenue at the music giant grew 8.7% to 2.93 billion euros ($3.16 billion) and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 17.4% to 580 million euros ($624 million).
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But investors focused on UMG’s streaming numbers above all else. The recorded music division’s subscription revenue grew 6.9%, down from 12.5% in the prior-year quarter, while overall streaming revenue grew 4.1% compared to 11% a year earlier. A number of analysts lowered their UMG price targets following Wednesday’s earnings announcement, albeit by smaller margins than the decline in the share price.
UMG went public in Sept. 2021, giving investors an opportunity to capitalize on the largest music company during a time of streaming growth and industry expansion. Even optimistic investors will have to bear through short-term ups and downs, however. “If you think the longer term analysis holds then [UMG’s current price] represents a significant buying opportunity,” J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven wrote in an email to investors on Friday (July 26). “Ultimately we believe you will still get to the same destination…just the pace of getting there was never likely to be linear, particularly on a quarter by quarter basis.”
The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 1.2% to 1,757.70 this week, marking the third consecutive weekly decline. The index has risen 14.6% year to date but fell 3.2% in July and is 4.9% off its all-time high of 1,847.64 set on May 17. Nine of the index’s 20 stocks were winners, 10 lost ground and one was unchanged.
UMG’s earnings appeared to have an impact on similar companies that have yet to release their own. Warner Music Group shares fell 6.6% the day UMG released earnings and ended the week down 6.8% to $29.83. Believe shares dropped 9.1% to 13.76 euros ($14.96). However, because UMG’s publishing business fared well — revenues grew 10.1% to 511 million euros ($550 million) — it’s not a coincidence that shares of Reservoir Media, which gets most of its revenue from music publishing, jumped 11.4% to $8.61.
Many major indexes lost ground this week despite gains on Friday following encouraging U.S. inflation data. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite fell 2.1% to 17,357.88 and the S&P 500 declined 0.8% to 5,459.10. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index dipped 2.3% to 2,731.90. China’s Shanghai Composite Index was down 3.1% to 2,890.90. An outlier was the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100, which gained 1.6% to 8,285.71.
Fabled Mexican music singer and producer Pepe Aguilar has signed a worldwide deal with SESAC Latina, Billboard has learned. Previously with BMI, he now joins his children, Ángela and Leonardo Aguilar, who are also part of the SESAC Latina roster. “We are pleased to announce that superstar Pepe Aguilar has affiliated with SESAC Latina,” Celeste Zendejas, SVP, […]
Welcome to another edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. While you’re here, we also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Maximilian Kolb announced his departure as BMG‘s executive vp of repertoire and marketing for continental Europe, effective at the end of the month. Kolb, who has been running things in Europe since late 2021, said the industry is in the midst of “one of its most revolutionary periods” and that it was time for a “new chapter” in his life. Assuming Kolb’s responsibilities in Europe on an interim basis will be Alistair Norbury, president of repertoire and marketing in the U.K. and Asia-Pacific regions. BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld lauded Kolb’s contributions over the years, saying “his leadership and vision have been instrumental in the growth and success of our GSA and Continental Europe operations.” Kolb joined BMG from Sony in 2012 as an A&R manager and was promoted to director A&R recorded music for Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GSA) five years later. In 2019, he was elevated to managing director of the GSA block and then snagged his most recent role in October 2021. Some of Kolb and company’s most recent wins include the acquisition of German independent label Telamo and the addition of rights packages from Jean-Michel Jarre, Tina Turner, Martin Solveig, Cro and more. Kolb has not telegraphed his next move professionally.
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Over in the U.S., BMG elevated Jen Morgan to vice president, global content & creative, executing content creation initiatives for BMG artists, as well as developing and executing marketing and sales content strategies supporting BMG’s artists and global objectives. Morgan previously served as vp, creative & imaging, and joined BBRMG in 2010. –Jessica Nicholson
Meanwhile…
Prescription Songs promoted Siara Behar and Eddie Fourcell each to vice president of A&R at the Dr. Luke-founded publisher. Behar was previously senior director of A&R and during her seven years at the company has signed or worked with a host of top writers, including Play-N-Skillz, DallasK, ALOISIO, JayM, LU KALA, Space Primates, Chloe George, Micah Premnath, Seb (1Mind). Prescribed since early 2021, most recently as senior A&R executive, Fourcell has found success with a roster that includes Grammy winner Lunchmoney Lewis (“All My Life” by Lil Durk and J Cole) and Jay-Z collaborator Fridayy, plus B Ham, Kaine, MizzyLoft and Baerose, among others. Fourcell earned his industry stripes at Mary J. Blige’s MJB Productions, where he rose from intern to head of A&R. “Siara and Eddie go above and beyond for our writers and creatives at Prescription Songs,” said Dr. Luke. “We are so grateful and proud to announce their well-deserved promotions and continued leadership roles.” Both executives report to Rhea Pasricha, head of A&R on the West Coast, and Katie Fagan, head of A&R at Prescription Songs Nashville.
PULSE Music Group promoted Steven Gringer to senior vp of A&R. Foley is celebrating his tenth year at PULSE, where in 2014 he started as an A&R coordinator for its publishing division before quickly being promoted to creative director that same year. He eventually rose to vp of A&R for publishing, his most recent title at the company, where he’s based in Los Angeles and reports to Ashley Calhoun, president. Prior to PULSE, Gringer worked in A&R at Shapiro Bernstein Music Publishing. Gringer’s portfolio at PULSE includes Noah Kahan collaborator Gabe Simon, Jack Harlow producer Angel Lopez, Latin music hitmaker Manuel Lara, cross-genre writer-producer DVLP and others. “What makes Steven really incredible as an A&R executive is his deft ability to work across genres, creating pop, latin, hip-hop and international opportunities for our roster of songwriters and producers,” raved Calhoun and co-CEOs Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham in a statement. “As we continue to take the careers of our clients to the next level, Steven’s work over the past 10 years at PULSE Music Group has been an instrumental part of this success.”
Live music company Mammoth hired Rob Owens as president of global touring and Angela Brown as president of global tour marketing. Owens was most recently vp of talent at NoCap Shows and earlier in his career held director-level gigs at AEG Presents and Nederlander Concerts — where for years he booked the historic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Brown, who is based in St. Louis, joined Mammoth following 27 years at Live Nation, where she rose to vp of marketing and along the way helped promote tours for Beyoncé, Drake and Billy Joel, among many others.
credit: Amanda Brandl
Alyssa Kitchen was promoted to general manager of the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The New Jersey native and self-professed former “emo kid” was previously assistant GM and director of finance at the venue. Prior to storming The Capitol (sorry), Kitchen served in senior accountant roles at Relix Media Group and Hear & There.
Jelena Grozdanich is the new vp of music at FivePointFive, a welltech app launching soon that will offer live and on-demand classes of functional breathwork. Grozdanich (GROWS-duh-nitch) is coming off a 10-year run at Sony Music Entertainment and Columbia Records, where she rose to director in the latter’s film and TV licensing division. While at Sony/Columbia, she represented a who’s-who of influential artists including Beyoncé, Adele, Miles Davis, A Tribe Called Quest and Elvis Presley, among others. During this decade, she also founded her own talent management firm (Guardian MGMT) and wellness community (TheSecret.LA). Grozdanich is based in Los Angeles.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Writer/artist development company Eclipse Music Group hired Courtney Crist as vp of publishing. She joins EMG from Anthem Entertainment, where as senior director she worked with writers including Ronnie Bowman, Early James and Brit Taylor, among others. “Courtney is a songwriter’s best friend, ultimate ally and has the best ears in the business,” said Penny Gattis, a partner at Eclipse … EastCoast Entertainment added Beth Potter to their Nashville office. Potter arrived from Downtown Band Entertainment, home of the Music City-based party band of the same name. ECE recently signed on to rep the band.
Lisa Goich recently left The Recording Academy, where she oversaw the jazz and comedy genres for the Grammy Awards, to launch her own consulting firm. LGA Creative Consulting will work with emerging artists and entrepreneurs from concept to creation on their creative projects. Prior to joining the Recording Academy in 2011, Goich worked in radio, website production (notably for Carole King) and was a coordinator and web-and-social media guru for the Playboy Jazz Festival.
Alana Battaglia joined the publicity team at The Untold. In her new role, she will manage accounts with notable clients including talent agency UTA and its new UTA Creators division as well as Don Toliver’s newly released Fortnite game Hardstone — a playable experience tied to his new album, Hardstone Psycho. Battaglia was previously director of public relations at gaming and esports organization FaZe Clan, where she led strategy and execution for internal and external facing communications and publicity. Prior to that, she was on the digital publicity team at Universal Pictures. –Chris Eggertsen
ICYMI:
Bob Bruderman
Legendary Columbia Records and PolyGram president Dick Asher passed away at age 92 … Alexis Lanternier was named CEO of French streamer Deezer, replacing interim CEO Stu Berger … HYBE promoted Jason Jaesang Lee to be the company’s new chief executive, replacing Jiwon Park … and Kobalt elevated longtime executive Bob Bruderman to the role of chief digital officer.
Last Week’s Turntable: Tree Paine’s Ex-Assistant Comes Full Circle
As a music journalist, I tend to look at fan armies with only professional interest — what they mean for the industry and how I can make sure they won’t figure out where I live. Last week, however, I suddenly had to face the fact that I’m in one — and I have been for the last 35 years. And I realized that many creators might need to change the way they think about cultivating and keeping superfans.
I went to Stockholm last week to see Bruce Springsteen, one of my favorite artists, for what must be at least the 30th time. I stayed in a hotel close to the venue, which was full of people like me — by which I mean Springsteen fans of a certain age (ahem) who wanted to see the concert enough to travel from all over Northern Europe and, in some cases, the U.S. Many came with spouses or children, and some planned on seeing a few shows — or even a couple of weeks’ worth. One couple said that they were happy Springsteen now gives himself a couple of days off between shows, since it gave them more time for sightseeing during the vacations they organize around concerts.
These people don’t think of themselves as part of a fan army. They don’t have a nickname or collect different versions of the same CD. I don’t, either. In fact, I feel a bit sheepish saying that this concert was one of the highlights of my summer, or that I spent a few hundred dollars to go, but it is and I did, and it was totally worth it. After the show, about two dozen people gathered in the lobby after the show to talk highlights and trade war stories, and some of them gathered again the following night after cancelled flights left them stranded in Stockholm. I feel even more sheepish about how much I enjoyed that.
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Whatever. From a music business perspective, this is just what superfans do. One difference between his and most is that Springsteen built his audience the old-fashioned way — with unforgettable live shows that convinced fans to come back and bring friends (and, these days, kids). The people in my hotel are obviously the exception — I’m talking about a few dozen people in a venue that holds more than 50,000 — but at this point I think Springsteen concerts mostly draw serious fans. (Springsteen opened with “Seeds,” which he only ever released as a live performance on a 1986 box set, so I assume he thinks the same.) And although it’s hard to be sure, I think most of them were won over by his concerts.
These days, music executives focus less on live acts — how live are most pop performances anyway? — and more on hit singles. Fan armies are built online, usually around the shared experience of hoping a song will go to No. 1 or buying extra copies in order to boost it. But how long will that last? The music you love when you’re young tends to remain in your life, but going to concerts might have more appeal over time than trading gossip about chart position online. Cultivating an audience devoted enough to keep coming back year after year can be much harder — but it can also be more effective.
The problem is that this part of the business is hard to see in data. Industry executives often talk about how much superfans are worth in terms of the CDs or tchotchkes they buy, but it’s harder to measure the effect of fans who keep coming back over the course of years. I saw one Springsteen show this year and two last year, which doesn’t really move the needle. The 30-or-so shows I’ve seen would, of course, but those were over a period of 36 years — starting with, if you’re curious, the Tunnel of Love Tour in May 1988. (I was already enough of a fan to attend two of the five shows — and then I was really hooked.)
What keeps me coming back — and I think what keeps most fans coming back — is that Springsteen delivers shows that are both consistently great and fairly different. If he’s had an off night, I haven’t seen it. At the same time, he makes every tour different and varies the set list every night, with moments of genuine magic — in Stockholm he delivered a haunting “Racing in the Street” and pulled a kid up onstage to sing the chorus of “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.” Others keep going back to hear rare favorites — seeing Springsteen play “Jole Blon” in September 2012 was a profound experience for me, even if most of my friends had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.
You could say a lot of these things about a lot of rock bands — there was a time when playing a different set every night was the rule instead of the exception. And it does seem to draw people in. Fans love a curveball of a cover, and some even appreciate the flubs — there’s so much more at stake without the artificial perfection that comes from a click track. Communities are built from appreciating, comparing and, yes, griping about difference performances. Just read the New Yorker story about Dead & Company to get the idea.
Like any true fan, I’m going to say Springsteen is different. More than any other current artist, he believes — and gets concertgoers to believe, at least for the time he’s onstage — that rock actually matters, that there’s more at stake onstage than entertainment, that this kind of music can actually sustain you. As I get older, with less time to drive down an empty highway for no reason at all, it gets harder to believe that. But I’d like to. Maybe in some way I need to — so much that I’ll be back next year and probably again the year after that.
South Korea-based music distributor YG PLUS, a subsidiary of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment (BLACKPINK, BabyMonster), signed a licensing deal with African streaming and download service Boomplay that will bring YG’s catalog to the platform. According to a press release, Boomplay boasts 70 million users. “We look forward to a successful partnership with YG PLUS that will bring their catalogue to new listeners and help connect their artists with music lovers and fans in the African region,” said Boomplay in a statement.
Hitmaker Distribution struck a distribution deal with indie label Blac Noize! Recordings, in which Hitmaker founder/CEO Tony Bucher is a partner. Blac Noize’s roster includes HitKidd, Jdot Breezy, Nevi, Toure and Marc Nasty.
Tunespotter, an audio-visual clip database that allows users to search, listen to and view “synch moments” from movies, TV shows, trailers, games and commercials, acquired What-song.com. The deal effectively combines “the data and search power of two leading music search platforms – letting users see, hear, and learn more about sought-after TV or movie moments in a single, easy-to-use place,” according to a press release. “The database we’ve established gives Tunespotter an immediate aggregator and audience,” added What-song.com founder Tom Andrew. “Their ability to empower the user journey with their incredible visual tool chest and social app capabilities extends our reach and consolidates our strengths, positively impacting consumers with more rewarding, long form engagement.” Tunespotter claims that What-song.com attracts more than 1 million unique users per month.
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Warner Music Brazil invested in and partnered with Sua Música Group, which owns the Sua Música Brazilian music platform and distributor Sua Música Digital. Through the deal, the companies will team up to develop regional artists and songwriters. According to a press release, Sua Música Digital manages the digital careers of and handles royalty management for more than 1,000 artists across Brazil, including Tarcísio do Acordeon, Vitor Fernandes and Thiago Aquino. “The combination of Sua Música’s significant presence in regional music with our national reach and global network will amplify the efforts of both companies and offer artists new creative and commercial possibilities and opportunities,” said Warner Music Brazil president Leila Oliveira in a statement.
Private equity company Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquired a majority stake in live experiences company TAIT from Providence Equity Partners, subject to regulatory approvals. No financial details were disclosed. “Goldman Sachs’ network and expertise will enable us to grow our global footprint and offerings, empowering the company to better serve clients, drive innovation, and pioneer new technology,” said TAIT CEO Adam Davis in a statement announcing the deal. TAIT has worked with artists and brands including Taylor Swift, Cirque Du Soleil, Beyoncé, Royal Opera House, Nike, Google and The Olympics.
Downtown-owned business-to-business distributor FUGA announced partnerships with three U.K. music companies: One House, drum and bass label Critical Music and Berry’s Room, an imprint of British-Nigerian Afrobeats artist Maleek Berry. One House (Eliza Rose, Pretty Girl) will take advantage of FUGA’s global distribution and marketing services, including physical distribution, synch, YouTube channel management and access to FUGA’s trends and analytics platform. Critical Music (QZB, Mefjus, Waeys, Ivy Lab) will use FUGA’s global distribution and marketing services to support its current and future releases. And Berry’s Room will utilize FUGA’s distribution, marketing and YouTube channel management services for Berry’s catalog and the release of his upcoming debut album; FUGA will als help the imprint support other Afrobeats artists.
Shamrock Capital‘s Content Strategy division acquired a film, TV and music portfolio from Vine Alternative Investments. The portfolio boasts an ownership interest in more than 450 songs, according to a press release. Shamrock would not confirm which songs were included in the deal.
Producer and creative executive RedOne’s 2101 Records imprint signed a distribution deal with Vydia, a distribution service under the gamma. umbrella. Vydia will support 2101’s roster and manage the rights and distribution of RedOne’s back catalog.
Independent dance music label Armada Music partnered with electronic music duo Deep Dish in a deal that will see Armada managing part of Deep Dish’s music catalog — namely, the duo’s 2005 album George Is On. Through the deal, the album returned to DSPs and download portals worldwide on Friday (July 19) for the first time in several years.
Global growth firm Triple G Ventures, led by CEO Gregg Stein, announced a partnership with Revelator, which provides digital IP infrastructure to independent music businesses. Through the deal, Triple G will help to enhance Revelator’s market presence, drive growth and increase awareness of Revelator’s end-to-end digital rights and royalty management solutions. Stein will also now serve as Revelator’s new chief marketing officer.
Slowing growth in subscription streaming sent Universal Music Group’s share price down 23.5% following the company’s second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday (July 24).
On Thursday (July 25), UMG shares dropped as far as 19.93 euros ($21.61), 29.8% below Wednesday’s closing price, before closing at 21.70 euros ($23.53) – a 23.5% decline that erased 12.2 billion euros ($13.25 billion) from UMG’s market capitalization.
Investors were reacting to a marked slowdown in streaming revenue in UMG’s recorded music division: In the second quarter, music subscription revenue grew 6.9%. That was down from 12.5% in the prior-year quarter, while overall streaming revenue grew 4.1% compared to 11% a year earlier. Non-subscription streaming revenue dropped 4.2% after growing 2.9% in the prior-year quarter.
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Analysts had expected far better. Barclays, for example, forecasted overall streaming growth of 10.5% and subscription growth of 11.0%. Guggenheim had forecast subscription growth of 11.3%.
During Wednesday’s earnings call, Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vp of digital strategy, singled out Spotify, YouTube and “local and regional” platforms for continuing to add subscribers. Apple Music and Amazon Music were conspicuously not mentioned, leading some analysts to believe those platforms are struggling to add new subscribers. “Other larger partners have been less successful at driving global adoption,” said Nash, “and there’s been some slowdown in terms of subscriber additions there.”
Despite the streaming slowdown, UMG managed to improve both top-line revenue and margins. Overall revenue grew 8.7% to 2.93 billion euros ($3.16 billion). As a percentage of revenue, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved to 22.1% from 21.9% in the prior-year period. Physical music sales grew 14.4% and merchandise sales jumped 43.7%. Analysts were far more concerned about the change in streaming, however, and seemed less concerned about improvements in lower-margin physical and merchandising that tend to naturally fluctuate based on new release and touring activity.
Many analysts lowered their price targets following Wednesday’s results, albeit by smaller margins than investors dropped the share price on Thursday. Guggenheim dropped UMG by 14% to 27.50 euros ($29.82). Barclays lowered its price target by 12% to 26.00 euros ($28.20). Citi lowered UMG by 7.8% to 29.50 euros ($28.20). And Kepler Cheuvreux reduced its price target 3.5% to 27.00 euros ($29.28).
For the first half of 2024, the stock market was a microcosm of the shifts in the music industry’s balance of power. Streaming stocks soared as investors rewarded companies that grew their paid-subscriber bases; radio stocks plummeted as companies struggled through a soft advertising market.
Spotify was the best-performing stock in the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) for the measurement period, Jan. 2-June 28, 2024. Shares of the Swedish company, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, jumped 67.4% to $314.45 on June 28 and reached as high as $331.08 on June 5 — its highest mark since February 2021, the month that the shares closed at their all-time high of $387.44. Subscribers grew to 239 million at the end of March, up 14% from the prior-year period.
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A year-and-a-half ago, Spotify ended 2022 at $70.05, down 66% for the year. The remarkable turnaround stemmed from a change in business strategy. In its formative years, Spotify funded its rapid growth at the expense of profits. Investors tacitly approved of this strategy. But after a pandemic-fueled boom in streaming stocks, investors tired on growth-obsessed companies and demanded sustainable margins and better bottom lines. (Netflix sank 51% in 2022 and has since recovered, too.) So Spotify moved to become “relentlessly resourceful,” as CEO Daniel Ek put it, laying off nearly a quarter of its workforce and cutting many of its high-cost exclusive podcasts, including its deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Audio. It also raised prices globally — twice in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia — to further boost margins.
The six streaming companies on the BGMI posted an average gain of 21.8%, which bested the 18.3% average increase of all stocks on the index. China’s Tencent Music Entertainment rose 55.8% as first-quarter paid subscribers grew 20.2% year over year to 113.5 million, helping offset a sharply declining social entertainment business. LiveOne improved 12.1% as the company finished its fiscal year (ended March 31) with a 30% increase in paid subscribers and a 19% revenue gain. Anghami, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, managed a 2.9% gain and got a lift when video streaming platform OSN+ acquired a 55.5% stake in April. Paris-based Deezer was the exception, dropping 19.2%.
Only companies in takeover acquisitions came close to the streaming leaders’ performances. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, investment trust Hipgnosis Songs Fund rose 42.2% to 1.024 pounds ($1.30) as a result of Blackstone’s offer — which was backed by HSF’s board and accepted by shareholders on July 8 — to buy the company’s shares at 1.05 pounds ($1.31) apiece, a 49.2% premium over the pre-offer price. Likewise, Believe climbed 40.0% to 14.70 pounds ($15.79) after a consortium led by CEO Denis Ladegaillerie raised its stake to 95% through a tender offer at 15 pounds ($16.11), a 21% premium price before the takeover bid was announced.
At the other end of the spectrum, radio companies — iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media and SiriusXM — lost an average of 56.4%. Cumulus dropped 61.7% as first-quarter revenue fell nearly 3%. iHeartMedia dropped 59.2% and lost 36% on May 10 alone after the company’s forecast for second-quarter revenue was below analysts’ expectations. SiriusXM slipped 48.3% after it lost 445,000 self-pay satellite radio subscribers in 2023 and had slow uptake of its revamped, lower-priced streaming app launched in November. Lower average revenue per user and an “uncertain” advertising market means the company expects full-year revenue to drop more than 2% this year.
All four live music-ticketing companies posted gains at the midyear mark and had an average gain of 8.8%. Live Nation probably would have done better than its 0.2% increase had the U.S. Department of Justice not filed an antitrust lawsuit on May 23 that seeks to break up the company’s promotion and ticketing businesses. Germany’s CTS Eventim, which acquired Vivendi’s festival and ticketing businesses in June, climbed 24.4% thanks to a 22% jump in 2023 revenue and expectations for “a moderate rise” in 2024. MSG Entertainment and sister company Sphere Entertainment gained 7.5% and 3.1%, respectively.
Record labels and music publishers dropped an average of 4.4% if HSF and Believe are excluded (and gained 8.6% including them). Reservoir Media gained 10.8%, Universal Music Group rose 7.6%, and K-pop companies SM Entertainment and HYBE fell 12.7% and 13.3%, respectively. Warner Music Group lost 14.4%.
This story appeared in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.
If U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles were to perform her triple-twisting double backflip to Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?” at the Paris Olympics, as she did at the trials in late June, NBC almost certainly won’t need a costly special license to air the track live. NBC pays performing rights organizations ASCAP, BMI and SESAC for blanket public-performance licenses, and the PROs distribute the royalty payments to their hundreds of thousands of members, such as songwriters, publishers and composers, from Paul McCartney to Dua Lipa to Swift herself.
These payments can add up to big money: The 2020 Olympics drew more than 3 billion viewers, a key factor in determining performance-royalty payments. “The larger the audience for the broadcast will generally result in a higher royalty,” says an ASCAP spokesperson.
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For the live TV broadcast, or online live-streaming, the blanket licenses cover all the necessary song rights — foreign PROs pay for the foreign TV broadcast rights and U.S. PROs pay for the U.S. rights. It gets trickier if NBC decides to use the song later, in a delayed broadcast, highlight video or some kind of YouTube-style on-demand streaming. In such cases, says Joy Butler, a Washington, D.C., entertainment and digital-technology attorney and author of The Permission Seeker’s Guide Through the Legal Jungle, NBC might need a separate synch license, negotiated with a publisher.
“But NBC might have reasons to not obtain that sync,” Butler adds. “They’re reporting on the Olympics, which is a newsworthy event. That gives them excellent reasons to rely on fair use.”
Fair use refers to a U.S. copyright doctrine in which a journalist can air snippets of a recorded song in the context of reporting a news story, or quote lyrics while reviewing a record. If an NBC news report on Biles’ Olympic performance picks up a bit of “…Ready For It?,” that may qualify, but NBC would have to tread carefully. “Fair use is very fickle,” Butler says. “The cases kind of go both ways. So you have to do risk assessment if you’ve got music in the background, and you’ve got a taped version which is delayed or on demand.”
TV producers tend to be disinclined to contact rightsholders and negotiate new (and perhaps costly) new licenses when using a song in the background of a recorded video, Butler says: “It absolutely happens that producers will err on the side of caution, and not have the music playing, just have the video run without the audio.” An NBC spokesperson declined to comment for this story.
This royalty-paying system can be cumbersome, but public venues such as the Bercy Arena in Paris and broadcasters such as NBC are used to it. “This is the same system that is in place for all audio-visual programming, including other sports events,” says the ASCAP rep.
Universal Music Group (UMG) got a boost from physical sales in the second quarter, but the conversation during Wednesday’s earnings call was mostly focused on streaming. Subscriptions, which accounted for more than half of total recorded music revenue, were a key factor in the company’s 8.7% revenue growth in the quarter. Even so, UMG’s streaming business is not firing on all cylinders. Ad-supported streaming continues to show weakness and UMG revealed that Facebook no longer licenses its premium videos.
CEO Lucian Grainge said the industry has entered “the next phase” of the streaming and subscription business, one characterized by collaboration with streaming companies to produce new products and allow artificial intelligence to allow artists to sing their music in different languages. “The amount of work, win-win dialogue [and] creative discussions that are going on between us is really extremely exciting,” he said.
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Here’s what else you should know about UMG’s most recent quarterly earnings and what was said on the call.
Streaming is growing — unevenly
Although UMG’s recorded music subscription revenue improved 6.5%, not all subscription platforms are performing equally well. CFO Boyd Muir cited a “slowdown in subscriber growth at certain platforms” while noting that Spotify, YouTube “and many regional and local platforms” continue to show healthy growth. Generally, UMG is optimistic about the overall marketplace’s ability to find new subscribers. Michael Nash, executive vp of digital strategy, said UMG’s consumer research has identified 180 million consumers from the top 19 territories “that will form the next wave of subscription adoption,” even taking into account price increases.
“Other” streaming revenue dropped 3.9% in the quarter, which Muir attributed to a decline in ad-supported streaming and some platform-specific issues (see Facebook below). UMG warned of weak ad-supported streaming last quarter, and Muir said UMG needs to see “broad-based improvement across multiple partners and geographies over a longer timeframe before we’re ready to adopt a less cautious view.”
Meta is no longer licensing UMG premium videos for Facebook
Another reason for a slowdown in non-subscription streaming revenue was Facebook’s departure from music videos. “Meta had previously offered previous music videos on Facebook,” Muir explained. “This product offering was less popular with Facebook’s user base than other music products, and as a result, Meta is no longer licensing premium music videos from us. As of May of this year, Meta is now focusing instead on other areas involving music content, and we are working together to expand these areas as part of a multifaceted renewal.” Showing premium videos is not the only aspect of Meta’s licensing agreements with labels, however. As Billboard has previously reported, Meta reached a licensing deal with UMG in 2017 that allowed UMG’s repertoire in user-uploaded videos on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. And a deal reached in 2020 allowed users to add songs from UMG’s catalog to videos on Facebook’s gaming platform.
The noncontroversial Spotify bundle controversy
After Spotify began offering both music and audiobooks, the company asserted it can pay a discounted “bundle” royalty rate to publishers and songwriters for premium streams. When asked about the audiobook bundle controversy on Tuesday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek described it as a not-unusual disagreement between counterparts. “That’s the nature of all supplier and distributor relationships,” he said during the company’s earnings call. UMG had a similarly unsensational response when asked about the bundle controversy. Rather than feeling cheated out of royalties, Muir said UMG “[is] confident our revenue participation reflects the value our artists and our music is bringing to their platform.”
UMG invested 519 million euros ($562 million) in the first half of 2024
Three transactions accounted for 450 million euros ($487 million) of investments in the first half of the year: a majority stake in Nigerian label Maven Global; an investment in Complex; and a $240 million investment in Chord Music Partners, a joint venture of KKR and Dundee Partners that owns over 60,000 copyrights. UMG spent 96 million euros ($104 million) on catalog acquisitions in the half-year, including 75 million euros ($81 million) that had been sitting in an escrow account.
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