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Endeavor, the sports and entertainment giant that owns agencies WME and IMG, announced on Tuesday it will be acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake in a deal that values the company at $13 billion. The move arrives three years into Endeavor’s tenure as a publicly traded company and just six months since WME’s chief rival, CAA, came under new ownership.
Silver Lake is Endeavor’s largest shareholder, having made its initial investment in WME in 2012 and purchasing IMG two years later, and plans on acquiring 100% of the remaining shares by offering stockholders $27.50 per share in cash, representing a 55% premium to the unaffected share price of $17.72 per share. Endeavor noted that was the price of shares on Oct. 25, 2023, a day before the company disclosed a review of strategic alternatives that included going private.
The company, which went public in 2021 following pandemic-era delays, currently trades as EDR on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $25.81 on Tuesday (April 2).
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In addition to WME and IMG, Endeavor’s portfolio includes live event hospitality firm On Location, marketing agency 160over90 and sports betting data firm OpenBet. Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, formed last year to merge its martial arts league UFC with World Wrestling Entertainment. TKO is not part of the Silver Lake acquisition, however, and will continue trading on the NYSE as “TKO” and “will continue to benefit from its connectivity to Endeavor’s expertise, relationships, and significant capabilities,” the company clarified.
Led by co-CEOs Egon Durban and Greg Mondre, Silver Lake’s $102 billion in combined assets includes a portfolio of companies like Oak View Group, Fanatics, TEG, Waymo, Stripe, Plaid, SoFi and Madison Square Garden Sports, among others.
Endeavor said the transaction is fully financed through equity from Silver Lake and additional capital from partnering investors, including Mubadala Investment Company, DFO Management, Lexington Partners, and funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Members of Endeavor’s leadership team, including chief executive Ari Emanuel, executive chairman Patrick Whitesell and president and COO Mark Shapiro, will also roll over their equity, and new debt financing was secured by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America and other institutions.
“Since 2012, Endeavor’s strategic partnership with Silver Lake and Egon Durban have been central to our evolution into the global sports and entertainment leader we are today,” said Emanuel. “We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor’s public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company.”
Stephen Evans, managing director of Silver Lake and a director of Endeavor, said: “The team at Silver Lake is proud of our longstanding partnership with Endeavor, marked by more than $3.5 billion of direct investment across six distinct transactions over 12 years. We are excited about what we can achieve together in this next phase, spearheaded by Endeavor’s visionary expertise across talent representation and content and ownership of truly special, marquee assets in sports.”
Stability AI has launched Stable Audio 2.0, adding key new functions to the company’s text-to-music generator. Now, users can generate tracks that are up to three minutes long at 44.1 KHz stereo from a natural language prompt like, “A beautiful piano arpeggio grows to a full beautiful orchestral piece” or “Lo-fi funk.” Stable Audio 2.0 […]
Lewis Capaldi signed with U.K.-based music licensing company PPL for international neighboring rights royalty collections. The company will collect royalties for the use of Capaldi’s music on radio, TV and in public spaces globally. Capaldi is managed by Ryan Walter at Interlude Artists.
Lil Mosey (“Blueberry Faygo”) and his label, Love U Forever, signed a global distribution partnership with Cinq Music ahead of his currently untitled EP to be released this spring. The first single from the EP, “Life Goes On,” debuted on March 22.
“Wine into Whiskey” singer Tucker Wetmore inked a deal with WME for global booking representation. Wetmore, who moved to Nashville in 2020, signed a publishing deal in 2023 with Rakiyah Marshall‘s Back Blocks Music. He follows “Wine into Whiskey” with his new release, “Wind Up Missin’ You.” – Jessica Nicholson
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Mexican singer-songwriter Beto Vega signed with Downtown Artist & Label Services. In addition to global distribution and marketing, Vega (“Me Dicen Nini” with Markitos Toys) will also take advantage of the company’s catalog management and full-service campaigns for future releases, including his upcoming track, “Los Brothers” with Edgardo Nuñez. Vega is booked by Luis Del Villar at Gerencia 360.
Pop/R&B singer-songwriter CIL signed with The Familie for management. The 21-year-old Fort Collins, Colo., native was recently signed to Warner Records by the label’s CEO, Aaron Bay-Schuck.
Turkish-Italian DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist Carlita signed with Ninja Tune via its imprint Counter Records, which released her latest single, “Time.” She is booked and managed by Alberto Bragado.
Ukrainian band Okean Elzy signed with Warner Music, which will release the group’s first entirely-English album globally, including in the United States, where Elektra will handle distribution. The band is preparing for a series of charity gigs for its Help for Ukraine Tour, with shows slated in Ukraine and other European countries including Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland. The group is represented by manager Joel Mark at 9122 Management and Brian Cohen and Joe Friel at WME for booking.
Shaznay Lewis, formerly a member of U.K. group All Saints, partnered with Absolute Label Services for the release of her first solo album in 20 years. Titled Pages, the album is set for release on May 17. Lewis is represented by Wayne Russell at Massive Management and Solomon Parker at Wasserman for booking.
Hip-hop/R&B artist (and actual gas station owner) WRKINSILENCE signed a distribution and licensing deal with 10K Projects, which will release his debut EP later this year. He is managed by Lauren Fukawa.
Alt pop-rock artist Zoe Ko signed to Big Loud Rock, an imprint of Big Loud Records, in partnership with producer and songwriter management company, publisher, record label and A&R consulting company Double Down 11. She is managed by Ava Solomon at NXTWAVE.
Melbourne, Australia-based vocalist, lyricist and producer Vetta Borne signed with [PIAS] Australia, which put out her latest track, “40-40.”
Americana singer-songwriter Cassandra Lewis signed to Elektra/Low Country Sound, which will release her forthcoming major label debut album, Lost in a Dream, later this year. She’s managed by Mark Cunningham at Red Light.
Country singer Kanaan Brock signed to 10th Street Entertainment for management. His debut single, “Sinner and Saint,” is out now.
M Music & Entertainment Group and Freddie Records signed up-and-coming norteño artist Nathan Acosta. The record deal comes ahead of his upcoming debut single, titled “Solo” and penned by Jesse Turner (of Grupo Siggno), which is set for release on April 19. Born in San Antonio, Tex., Acosta is a singer-songwriter and accordion player who was most recently on tour with Grupo Siggno and Jennifer Peña across the United States and Mexico. “This is an absolute dream come true for me,” Acosta said in a statement. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of being able to record and play music in front of big crowds.” – Griselda Flores
Members of the American Federation of Musicians voted to ratify the union’s agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The agreement, which covers basic theatrical motion picture and basic television motion picture contracts, gives musicians streaming residuals for the first time, as well as protections against artificial intelligence, according to AFM. In addition to […]
Kanye West is facing another lawsuit filed by a former employee at his Donda Academy, this time accusing him of discriminating against Black staffers and seeking to lock students in cages.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday (April 2) in Los Angeles court, Trevor Phillips says the embattled rapper (who now goes by Ye) treated the Black staff at the school “considerably worse than white employees” — and then subjected him to “incessant harassment” and “humiliation” when he spoke up about it.
Like the several other lawsuits filed by former Donda Academy employees, the new complaint includes a number of bizarre allegations about West and his conduct at the school. It claims he told students to “shave their heads” and that he “intended to put a jail at the school” where students could be “locked in cages.”
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In another odd alleged episode, Phillips claims West summoned him to a room at the Nobu Hotel, where the rapper put on The Batman and watched it in silence.
“After a long and awkward silence, Kanye finally spoke again,” Phillips claims in the suit. “Turning his attention back to Phillips, he began an unprovoked and bigoted rant attacking Jewish people.” Later that same evening, Phillips claims West lay on the bed and simulated masturbating while talking about having orgies.
Phillips claims he was finally fired last year.
The case is the latest lawsuit filed by former staffers of Donda Academy and the Yeezy Christian Academy that preceded it. One of them, filed in July, claimed that the school lacked windows because the embattled rapper “did not like glass” and that students were not allowed on the second floor because West was “reportedly afraid of stairs.” Another case, filed in April 2023, alleged that the only food available to students was sushi.
As with those earlier cases, the strange allegations contained in Tuesday’s lawsuit supported more straightforward legal claims, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.
A spokesperson for West did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
German concert promoter and ticketing company CTS Eventim agreed to buy French media company Vivendi‘s festival and international ticketing businesses, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday (April 2).
CTS Eventim and Vivendi have signed a put option agreement for the deal, which includes leading U.K. ticket merchant See Tickets along with Vivendi festivals Junction 2 in the U.K. and Garorock in France. The financial details of the deal, including price, were not disclosed.
CTS Eventim is the world’s second-largest provider of ticketing and live entertainment services, and acquiring the businesses could help it maintain an edge over rival Live Nation in its home market of Europe.
“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.
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Vivendi’s festival and ticketing businesses, housed under the subsidiary Vivendi Village, generated 137 million euros ($151.2 million) in 2023. See Tickets sold around 44 million tickets last year, generating 105 million euros ($115.8 million). It is the second-largest ticketing company in the United Kingdom and also operates in the United States and seven European nations.
The festival activities that CTS Eventim is set to acquire generated 32 million euros ($35.3 million) last year. Vivendi will retain its stake in the performance hall L’Olympia in Paris, See Tickets France and the Brive Festival.
“We at Vivendi are convinced that CTS Eventim will be the right company to bring our ticketing and festival activities to new heights, supporting See Tickets to remain a state-of-the-art company … while fostering the growth of the festivals and preserving their unique identities and audience,” said Hala Bavière, CEO of Vivendi Village, in a statement.
CTS Eventim is coming off a banner year. The Munich-based company’s revenue topped 2 billion euros for the first time ever in 2023, rising 22% to 2.36 billion euros ($2.53 billion at the average exchange rate in 2023). Normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was also up 32% to 501.4 million euros ($542.7 million).
The companies said they expect to finalize the deal within a few months, pending approval from each of their employee works councils.
CTS Eventim’s stock briefly hit a new 52-week high of 83.85 euros ($90.28) following the news on Tuesday before closing at 82.70 euros ($89.04), up 0.3%.
YG Entertainment, home to K-pop groups BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, has named Yang Min-seok, the young brother of former CEO and company founder Yang Hyun-sun, as sole CEO. The company announced the appointment following its annual shareholder meeting on Friday (March 29). Yang had previously shared co-CEO duties with Hwang Bo-kyung, who was named CEO in […]
On Feb. 5, 300 workers from North America’s music industry gathered at the inaugural Music Sustainability Summit to discuss the impact of climate change on their business. “People were always asking where to start, what to do and how to do it,” says Amy Morrison, co-founder and president of the Music Sustainability Alliance, which organized the symposium. “We saw a need to bring people together in order to not duplicate work, to share best practices and to spotlight the good work everyone is doing.”
Morrison formed the 501(c)(3) nonprofit MSA with co-founder Mike Martin during the pandemic and near the end of her 23-year run as senior vp of marketing at Concerts West/AEG. While semiretired, she still consults for the company and continues running tour marketing for The Rolling Stones, including their North American Hackney Diamonds trek this summer. The touring shutdown enabled her to complete a certificate program in sustainability at Presidio Graduate School, and she now dedicates most of her working hours to the MSA. (The alliance is currently collaborating with a nonprofit fundraising consultant to raise money to pay staff.)
The MSA’s mandate is the creation of “climate-focused professional resources and community,” Morrison explains. “It’s a relatively simple concept, but nobody ever saw the need for it. The downtime we had to reflect during COVID was helpful, and the timing now couldn’t be better to accelerate and lift everyone up together to do this.”
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The Music Sustainability Summit will be an annual gathering that takes place in Los Angeles — where the MSA, like Morrison, is based — on the day after the Grammy Awards, and MSA will organize a number of year-round initiatives and track environmental regulations that will affect the industry, with the two most pertinent being truck emissions and phasing out single-use plastics. It also offers a music-industry resource guide.
“It still blows my mind that I get to work with the Stones,” Morrison says. “Living in L.A., this poster beautifully marries the SoCal vibe and the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world.”
Maggie Shannon
By mid-April, the MSA plans to have three to five working groups dedicated to promoting sustainability practices in the industry. Each will share solutions and actionable recommendations. In collaboration with the Eller College of Management, MSA is also conducting an analysis of the economic impacts of extreme weather on the live industry and how environmental regulations will affect touring practices. Morrison is also a member of the advisory group for the Sustainable Production in Entertainment Certification, which is being developed by the U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles in partnership with experts to develop SPEC’s green certification program for workers across the entertainment industry.
Beginning in May, MSA will hold a series of webinars that will focus on merchandise, food choice impact, easy ways to green events, regulations and incentives, among other topics. Plans are also underway to launch quarterly member happy hours in L.A. and New York.
“I oversimplify things a lot, which I think is a gift and a curse,” Morrison says, “but it makes me not scared and it motivates me to try things because it’s like, ‘We can do this.’”
It’s often said that despite the music industry having a very small impact on climate change, it has an outsize influence on the culture that can be leveraged. What are your thoughts on that?
I agree as a general statement. I feel it’s really important, though, that we have our house in order and that the industry can walk the walk, speak with confidence and be legit and authentic in getting that message out. I think that supports artists who want to speak out as well because they have the confidence that the industry is behind them.
The MSA wants to create that confidence. The mission is to have a net-zero music industry by 2050 [with] lots of milestones along the way.
“This clock commemorates The Concert of a Lifetime, Simon & Garfunkel’s 1993 residency at [what is now] The Theater at Madison Square Garden. I grew up listening to them, and being a part of this historic reunion was a career highlight.”
Maggie Shannon
What initiatives is the MSA working on?
We’ve been working on a Get Out the Vote working group. There’s a lot of interest, and it involves everything from message targeting, deciding on markets and the intention of activating younger people to vote [with consideration for] the climate. We’re also talking about how to use the channels we have: What can a venue do to get the word out? What can a promoter do? Then the campaign needs to be created for them to actually have something to share. It could even be picking a city that needs the impact and finding a local artist there [to get involved] who could be just as meaningful as getting a superstar to do it. We’re working with folks that create campaigns, along with political experts.
You work in the touring industry. What initiatives do you have in that sector?
In the next couple of months, we’re launching a campaign for [tours] to have one less truck. It’s about flipping the narrative that [the goal] is no longer having the biggest tours with the most trucks — it’s about still putting on a beautiful show, but with fewer trucks. That’s something we can measure over time. It’s a ways down the road from launching. We’re also working on courses for worker education on how to be green, like a certification you get in how to do your job in a green way. We need operational change, and it only comes from education.
“Running the marketing for a festival of this magnitude with these artists was an incredible experience. I got to draw on my touring experience while learning new things.”
Maggie Shannon
What would a curriculum like that teach?
It could be how to set up composting backstage, or how to go down your supply chain and source items, or how to measure energy use. Really basic stuff, starting on the production side.
Because production has the biggest impact?
Yeah, and it’s easier to adopt. It’s important for systemic change that the people who are doing the work, who are really making operations hum, understand the work. And if their bosses or management see the value in funding this type of program, then it’s also coming from the top.
How do you see the music industry generally becoming greener?
I see it in the expansion of departments, with more people being hired and more resources getting put behind it. [Live Nation’s touring program] Green Nation is starting to really empower its production teams to lead in the green space, and they’re putting green coordinators out on the road. It’s not like, “The runner or the [production assistant] can do it.” There has been a shift in the acknowledgment that this is actually a job.
The MSA is working with big companies that compete with each other. What has that been like?
We’ve found that in the production vendor world, it’s a no-brainer. They’re all game to be on the same calls and do things together. At the summit, the panel with the [sustainability leads from AEG, Live Nation, ASM Global and Oak View Group] was a good start. A secret mission of mine is to find a project for the four of them to work on. Maybe to find a city where they all have a property — I’m sure there’s more than one — and work on [climate-minded] infrastructure together. It can be a small thing to do as proof of concept. I think the working groups will bring some of that because a lot of our role is to facilitate, convene and set the table for people.
A friend gifted Morrison this Al Hirschfeld drawing of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. “As a longtime Deadhead and Hirschfeld fan, it makes me smile to see Jerry doing what he loves.”
Maggie Shannon
I think part of the road map for us is to come up with some science-based, peer-reviewed recommendation to take to the C suite and say, “Here are a couple of projects that maybe if all the venues work together on, this is the impact it could have, and all it will cost you is X, Y or Z.”
I can see how having such options would be useful for busy people who don’t know where to start.
Maybe I’m dreaming, but they really should all work together on this, and I think they will, with the right projects and the right impact.
Climate change can feel so overwhelming. How do you avoid existential dread and stay in a place of progress and optimism?
I’m a half-full gal. I am optimistic, and I’m fed by support, good work and successes. The summit was amazing. I couldn’t have dreamed of it to be any better. And everyone still showed up during a crazy rainstorm. There were a lot of years of banging the head against the wall around all this, but change is happening. So I’m not driven by fear — I’m driven by making a difference.
This story will appear in the March 30, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Billie Eilish, Pearl Jam, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Elvis Costello, Darius Rucker, Jason Isbell, Luis Fonsi, Miranda Lambert and the estates of Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra are among more than 200 signees to an open letter targeting tech companies, digital service providers and AI developers over irresponsible artificial intelligence practices, calling such work an “assault on human creativity” that “must be stopped.”
The letter, issued by the non-profit Artist Rights Alliance, calls on such organizations to “cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists,” stressing that any use of AI be done responsibly. “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere. Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rights holders.”
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Artists, songwriters and producers from all genres, several generations and multiple continents added their names to the letter, from younger artists like Ayra Starr to legends like Smokey Robinson and organizations like HYBE. In particular, the signatories point to the use of AI models trained on unlicensed music, which they call “efforts directly aimed at replacing the work of human artists with massive quantities of AI-created ‘sounds’ and ‘images’ that substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists. For many working musicians, artists and songwriters who are just trying to make ends meet, this would be catastrophic.”
“Working musicians are already struggling to make ends meet in the streaming world, and now they have the added burden of trying to compete with a deluge of AI-generated noise,” Jen Jacobsen, executive director of the Artist Rights Alliance, said in a statement accompanying the letter. “The unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem — for artists and fans alike.”
Over the past year or so, many in the music industry have echoed similar calls for the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence, which left unchecked has the potential to undermine copyright law and make issues like streaming fraud, soundalikes and intellectual property theft much more rampant, much more quickly. There have been Congressional hearings on the matter, and states like Tennessee have begun introducing and passing legislation hoping to protect creators and intellectual property owners from deception and fraud, broadening laws and addressing ethical use. Universal Music Group has developed a task force to address the issue, and UMPG has cited TikTok’s AI approach as one of the reasons for the standoff between the two companies that is ongoing, while the RIAA, Warner Music Group and others have all weighed in stressing that protecting IP from unlicensed AI overreach is of utmost importance.
“We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem,” the letter concludes. “We call on all digital music platforms and music-based services to pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content, or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”
Read the full letter and see the list of signatories here.
With a couple hundred songs across 10 albums — plus one more on the way — Taylor Swift definitely has enough music to have her own radio channel. And pretty soon, she will.
SiriusXM announced Tuesday (April 2) that it plans to launch “Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version)” this month, allowing listeners to hear selections from the pop star’s 17-year discography 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Nothing is off limits, too, with the broadcaster promising to play both original and “Taylor’s Version” editions of her older hits as well as From the Vault songs, live recordings, bonus tracks and more.
Plus, Swifties will come on-air to share their own “personal and meaningful experiences with Taylor and her music,” according to a release.
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The channel will go live on April 7 and remain available through March 6. On the 13th day of its run — April 19 — Swift will drop her highly anticipated 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. To tune in, fans need only download the SiriusXM app and select Channel 13.
“The versatility of Taylor’s music and the phenomenal impact she’s had in her career across so many musical genres will be on full display,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM president and chief content officer. “We’re all experiencing a legend at work and are so thrilled to work with Taylor to present a one-of-a-kind channel that connects her fans with her extraordinary body of work.”
The news comes in the midst of a break in the 14-time Grammy winner’s ongoing global Eras Tour, which will pick back up in May with a four-night stint in Paris. In the meantime, Swift is gearing up to release Tortured Poets, which features collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + the Machine as well as four bonus tracks spread out across different extended versions of the album.
On Monday (April 1), the “Anti-Hero” singer won artist of the year at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which she accepted via a pre-recorded speech. “It’s completely up to you to choose how you spend your time, what concerts you want to go to, what music you want to make the soundtrack to your life,” she said in the video, which played during the ceremony.
She added, “To anyone who has included me in those choices, I’m so, so, so thankful for that.”