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Streaming platform Veeps has introduced a new way to watch artists hit the stage no matter where you are in the world through the new premium subscription service Veeps All Access. The platform is filled with a catalog of on-demand concerts, live music and comedy specials from a wide range of major bands and artists. All Access gives you unlimited virtual entry to all of it for a small monthly (or yearly) price. I had the opportunity to check it out first-hand – here’s what I thought.
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Normally, if I can’t attend a concert in person, I attempt to find live coverage of my favorite artists on tour through TikTok videos, Instagram or clips posted to other social media channels, which ends up being time-consuming and the video and sound quality is never guaranteed. Veeps All Access changes that, and after watching The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie’s Phoenix concert for the Give Up & Transatlanticism 20th Anniversary Tour, I can attest that it’s like having your own private concert movie experience.
One of the major benefits of the streamer, for me, is the option to sit on my couch in comfort, rather than scour the venue for an optimal viewpoint. It also avoids having to stand for long periods of time or squint at a video screen from the nosebleeds. Plus, if I wanted to get up and dance, I didn’t have to worry about annoyed glances that usually come with dancing in packed concert crowds.
The camerawork was incredible, providing top-tier views of the stage and band with close-ups and views I normally would never see standing in the crowd.
I was also unexpectedly able to easily grab merch! No long lines or trying to determine the right moment to commit to standing in line. The virtual merch booth is located in a convenient sidebar within the app — I just clicked on the “Merch” button and was presented with all the available options to purchase right then and there as the show goes on.
When it comes to connecting with other fans like you might at a concert, there’s an optional chat box. When it’s open, a live thread appears with fans commenting and sending emojis. I was watching an on-demand show, but could still send messages or go back and see what everyone had said when it initially aired.
This was my first time seeing the Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie perform on this tour, but if you already hit one of the many sold-out tour stops, streaming the show on Veeps All Access is a great way to relive an amazing concert experience on-demand and catch all the moments you might have missed while grabbing a drink or hitting the bathroom.
The platform requires a subscription to access both on-demand and live performances, but it’s completely worth it. A ticket to the show I watched cost $17.99 on its own, so the best deal is to sign up for a monthly Veeps All Access subscription at $11.99/month, which gets you into all the content on the platform for one low price. You can also opt for an annual subscription for $120/year, which saves you $20. Subscribe here or click the button below to start streaming today.
Veeps Subscription: $11.99/month or $120/year
Whether you’re on a budget, the show’s sold out, or you just want to stay home but don’t want to miss your favorite singer perform onstage, Veeps is making it easier than ever to keep seeing live music.
How to Watch Concerts With Veeps All Access
You can livestream or rewatch performances from most Internet-connected devices, like a smartphone, tablet, laptop and TV. The streaming platform has its own dedicated app on Apple TV and Roku and mobile (iOS and Android).
If you’re watching it through your TV, make sure to download the app, or you can use Chromecast or Airplay from your computer or mobile device.
Want to gift a concert or unlimited concerts to a music-loving friend, family member or colleague? You can purchase a gift ticket to any of the shows on Veeps to send to whomever you want, which will be securely sent through email. You can also choose to gift a six or 12 month subscription for them to enjoy that show and many, many more.
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Apple TV+ has entered high society with its new period drama The Buccaneers, featuring pop-song dance scenes (including Taylor Swift’s “Nothing New”), love triangles and drama, of course.
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In case you need something to hold you over until the newest season of Netflix’s hit drama Bridgerton, the new series has you covered — and will maybe even become your latest binge-watch. It’s based on the novel of the same title by Edith Wharton and explores what happens when five American women enter English society.
Transport yourself to the 1870s as you follow Conchita Closson (Alisha Boe); Nan (Kristine Froseth) and Jinny St. George (Imogen Waterhouse); and Mabel (Josie Totah) and Lizzy Elmsworth (Aubri Ibrag) as they are sent to London to secure themselves husbands. What ensues is an Anglo-American clash as the girls bring their bull-headedness and American charm to the balls of London.
Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.
When & How to Watch The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers had a three-episode premiere on Wednesday (Nov. 8) and will have new episodes dropping every Wednesday for a total of eight episodes. The series in an Apple TV+ original, which means you’ll need a subscription to watch the series. If you’re already a subscriber, then you just need to log into your account to watch the show for no additional cost. You can click here or the button below to watch it now.
Don’t have a subscription? Apple TV+ has a 7-day free trial for new users, which means you can watch the series and more for free. After the free trial is over you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee of $9.99/month. Click here or the button below to start your free trial now. If you’re looking for additional ways to save money, you can get three months free with the purchase of an eligible Apple device or a free month trial when you sign up for Apple One, which bundles Apple TV+ with up to five other services.
Besides The Buccaneers, you’ll have access to the entire Apple TV+ library, which includes exclusive content, TV shows, sports and movies including The Afterparty, The Crowded Room, Ted Lasso, Platonic, The Last Thing He Told Me, Silo, Severance, High Desert, Shrinking, The Big Door Prize, Bad Sisters, Schmigadoon!, The Problem with John Stewart, The Morning Show, Ghosted, Still, Tetris, Palmer, Only Murders in the Building, Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie and more.
Apple TV+ can also be streamed on the Apple TV app, your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and popular smart TVs including Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL, Toshiba and others, along with Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV. Apple TV+ is available on PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles as well.
Check below to watch the trailer for The Buccaneers.
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BTS is almost ready to come home with you, ARMY! The new concert film BTS: Yet to Come, is set to drop on Prime Video Thursday (Nov. 9), and based on the trailer, it looks epic.
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The movie will returns fans to 2022, when the RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook took to the stage in Busan, South Korea, as a part of Busan’s World Expo 2030 bid. The concert was held at the Asiad Main Stadium, with approximately 50,000 people in attendance — and now you get to be one of the spectators. Whether you’ve seen the K-pop in concert before or it’s your first time, you’ll be able to watch them perform 19 songs, including “Dynamite,” “Butter,” “RUN,” “MIC Drop,” “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” and more.
Along with the music, fans can see speeches, a fireworks display and more.
Keep reading to learn the streaming options available below.
How to Watch BTS: Yet to Come
The concert film will be available to stream on Prime Video starting on Thursday (Nov. 9). Since it’s a Prime Original, that means you’ll need a Prime membership to watch it. If you’re already subscribed, you can watch it for no additional cost. Just log into your account and head to the Prime Video library, where you’ll find it under new releases, or click the button below starting Nov. 9.
Not subscribed? Amazon has a 30-day free trial for new users who sign up, which means you can watch the movie and more for free. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular membership fee of $14.99/month or $139/year.
Students can take advantage of the student membership, which is 50% off and comes with a six-month free trial. Those with a qualifying government program can also snag an EBT/Medicaid plan, which is half off and comes with a 30-day free trial. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.
BTS: Yet to Come isn’t the only thing you’ll be able to enjoy with Prime. A membership will give you access to the entire Prime library including Prime originals and exclusive content, TV shows and movies, including The Boys, Gen V, Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Harlan Coben’s Shelter, Swarm, Medellìn, The Power, Kelce, Harlem, I’m a Virgo, Invincible, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Horror of Dolores Roach, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Better Call Saul and more.
Want even more content? You can expand your library of offerings with Prime’s premium channel options such as Paramount+, Max, Starz and AMC+.
A membership will also include additional perks such as Prime Premiere, free one-day shipping, grocery delivery, access to Prime members-only deals and Prime Day, Prime Try Before You Buy and more.
Watch the trailer for BTS: Yet to Come below.
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Starting Wednesday (Nov. 8), Spotify subscribers in the United States can effortless transition from Britney Spears’ music to her recently released audiobiography, The Woman in Me, thanks to the launch of its previously announced offering of 15 hours of free audiobook streaming per month in Spotify Premium.
The Spotify Premium audiobook catalog includes more than 200,000 titles, over 70% of them bestselling titles from all five major book publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and RB Media) as well as independent publishers such as Bolinda, Dreamscape and Pushkin. Although Spotify has offered audiobooks since Sept. 2022, the user experience has been less than optimal. Users could listen to audiobooks in the Spotify app but, because Spotify wants to avoid costly in-app fees, users must purchase titles at its website.
Spotify announced its audiobook strategy on Oct. 3 and initially gave access to the company’s audiobook catalog only to subscribers in the United Kingdom and Australia. Rolling out audiobook streaming in its largest market will allow Spotify to better capture the expected benefits of offering free listening to a segment of its 226 million subscribers. “This greatly improves our offering, which will increase engagement on Spotify, which will then, of course, reduce churn,” explained CEO Daniel Ek at an Oct. 3 event.
Listeners who exceed the 15-hour monthly allotment can purchase additional listening time. In the early days of the audiobook offering in the United Kingdom and Australia, Spotify has “already seen consumers doing that in ways we probably wouldn’t have imagined, where some consumers are heavily upgrading and being really heavy audiobook listeners [from] day one,” Ek said during the company’s Oct. 24 earnings call.
To help listeners find audiobooks, Spotify offers an audiobook button on the search page and offers an editorially curated selection of popular titles at its audiobooks hub. Listeners can search by category — such as mystery & thriller or self-help — and scroll through lists such as “From book to screen” and “As seen on social media.”
The impetus for audiobook streaming harkens back to Spotify’s origins as a friction-less substitute for digital piracy that had decimated record label revenues by the time Spotify was founded in 2006. “We looked at the world and we thought the only way to beat piracy was to offer a much better experience,” said Ek during the Oct. 3 event. In 2018, Spotify applied the lessons it learned in music to a new format, podcasts, and, Ek claimed, added more than 100 million to podcast listeners to the ecosystem. “This created a win-win,” he explained. “The more people listened to podcasts, the more music grew. And the more people listened to music, the more podcasting grew as well.”
Now, Spotify sees audiobooks as the next opportunity to revitalize an underserved ecosystem with a single dominant player — Amazon-owned Audible in this case. “And just like in music and podcasting,” said Ek, “we’re really excited to be able to bring all the amazing tools that we built for creators and consumers alike to enable more discovery of these amazing audiobooks to the world.”
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Tyler, the Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival is back! The rapper’s music festival is coming Saturday (Nov. 11) to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. This time around, it won’t just be people with tickets who can see the headliners; Amazon is making sure anyone can watch a livestream of the music festival.
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For those who couldn’t snag travel deals to see it in-person, don’t worry, you’ve got some streaming options. Prime Video has you covered with a livestream of both days that will occur Saturday (Nov. 11) and Sunday (Nov. 12) at 6 p.m. ET.
This year, the event has a new slew of headliners (including Tyler, the Creator). You’ll also be able to see SZA, Ice Spice, PinkPantheress, The Hillbillies, Rex Orange County, Dominic Fike, Lil Yatchy, Willow and more. Click here to see the full lineup and schedule.
How to Livestream Camp Flog Gnaw Online for Free
Rather than scroll on social media to find a shaky live feed of the music festival, Prime Video is livestreaming the event on both days at 6 p.m. ET. You’ll need a Prime membership in order to view the livestream. Already a member? Just click the button below or find it in the Prime Video library to watch Camp Flog Gnaw for free.
Don’t have a Prime membership? Amazon has a 30-day free trial that’ll give you access to the entire Prime Video library in addition to member exclusive benefits like free one-day shipping, grocery delivery, exclusive Prime-only deals, Prime Day, Prime Premiere, Amazon Music and more. Click here or the button below to start your free trial. Once your free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular membership price of $14.99/month or $139/year.
If you’re a student you can take advantage of the student membership, which comes with a 6-month free trial and 50% off the subscription price. For those a part of a qualifying government program, you can take advantage of the EBT/Medicaid membership, which is half-off and comes with a 30-day free tiral.
You’ll also be able to watch more exclusive and original content besides the music festival including Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Swarm, The Power, Harlem, Invincible, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
You can also rent and buy movies and TV shows on Prime Video as well as add Prime Channels such as Paramount+, Max+, MGM+ and Showtime.
Want to see it live? Passes are sold-out on the official website, but you may still be able to get a pass through resale sites such as StubHub, VividSeats and Seat Geek (use code BILLBOARD10 to get $10 off purchases of $250+. Offer valid on first purchases only).
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Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie got tail-waggingly good reviews when dropped in theaters on Sept. 29 and now you can relive each adventure-filled moment at home. The sequel to the 2021 Paw Patrol movie was released onto video on demand on Oct. 31 to rent or buy the movie through available streaming options.
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Grab your Paw Patrol toys and get ready as the second film sees the pack of heroes gain superpowers after a meteor crashes into Adventure City. The gang of pups test out their new skills and powers, but things take a turn for the worse when their nemesis Humdinger a mad scientist steal their superpowers and turn into supervillains. Now, the team must work together to stop the villains from destroying the city and people they love.
You can expect another star-studded cast with celebs including Kim Kardashian, Taraji P. Henson, Kristen Bell, Serena Williams, Chris Rock, James Marsden, Lil Rel Howery, Brice Gonzalez, Mckenna Grace and Christian Convery voicing the popular characters.
How to Watch Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
Right now, you can buy the movie on Prime Video to rent for $19.99 or own for $24.99. You don’t need a Prime membership to order and watch the movie either, just head to Prime Video page and purchase the movie or click the button below.
The film is also expected to drop on Paramount+ after the typical 45-day theatrical window wait period. Subscribers to Paramount+ will then be able to watch the movie for no additional cost.
Looking for more ways to watch the film? If you have Apple TV+ you can also purchase the movie through the app or click here.
How to Watch Paw Patrol: The Movie & Episodes of Paw Patrol
The first movie along with episodes of the hit animated children’s series is a Nickelodeon original. You can view episodes and the movie on Paramount+ — the official streamer for Nickelodeon. If you’re already subscribed, just log into your account and you’ll be able to start watching for no additional cost.
Don’t have a subscription? Paramount+ offers a 7-day free trial for new users who sign up, which means you’ll be able to watch the first movie and episodes of the TV series for free. Once your free trial is up, you’ll be charged the subscription price based on the plan you choose.
The streamer has two plans to choose from: Paramount+ Essential and Paramount+ with Showtime. The Essential plan is the ad-supported option for $5.99/month and includes thousands of episodes, movies and exclusives. You’ll also have access to 24/7 live CBS news, NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League. The Paramount+ with Showtime plan includes everything in the Essential plan as well as no ads, Showtime originals, movies and sports, live college football and CBS TV and the ability to download programs offline to watch on your smart device later on.
Content you can look forward to watching include Family Legacy, I Wanna Rock, Hip Hop My House, Behind The Music, Yellowstone, Fatal Attraction, Rabbit Hole, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, 1923, iCarly, The Good Fight, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Why Women Kill and Before I Forget. With Showtime, you can stream original shows and movies such as Yellowjackets, The 12th Victim, Dexter, Dexter: New Blood, George & Tammy, Homeland, Ziwe, Penny Dreadful, Buried and more.
Looking for more savings? Paramount+ is also available as a premium channel on Prime Video.
Check below to watch the trailer for Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
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Jung Kook is celebrating the release of his first-ever solo album, titled Golden, and to kick off his U.S. promotion, he’s appearing on Today and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. That means you’ll get double the opportunity to see the BTS member on your screen.
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The K-pop singer’s first appearance will be on The Tonight Show, where he’ll be interviewed by host Jimmy Fallon, which airs live on Monday night (Nov. 6) on NBC at 11:35 p.m. ET. Then, he’ll perform some of his tracks live during Today‘s Citi Concert Series, which you can see in-person on Wednesday (Nov. 8) at Rockefeller Plaza at 5:15 a.m. ET. If you’re not able to score some travel deals to see it live — or are not that early of a riser — the performance will be aired the same day on NBC at 8 a.m. ET.
Fallon teased Jung Kook’s guest appearance via Instagram on Wednesday (Nov. 1) with a short video announcing the “Seven” singer coming on the show.
“@bts.bighitofficial’s #JungKook makes his solo Tonight Show debut Monday, November 6th at 11:35/10:35c on @nbc! 🫰💜 #FallonTonight #JungKookOnFallon,” the caption says.
Make sure to grab your BTS merch and check below to see all the streaming options available.
How to Watch Jung Kook on Today & The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Today are both part of NBC programming. If you have cable, you can tune in to the NBC channel and watch Jung Kook’s appearances for no additional cost. You’ll just need to check your cable provider’s channel guide to find what channel NBC is on. You may also be able to get the NBC channel through an HD antenna like one here from Amazon.
Don’t have cable? Peacock is the official streamer for all things NBC, Bravo and more. If you have Peacock already, just log in to your account and you’ll be able to watch the programs live for no added cost. If you’re not already subscribed, you can take advantage of the platform’s affordable pricing plans that’ll give you access to the streamer’s entire library including The Tonight Show and The Today Show.
There are two plans that you can choose from: Premium or Premium Plus. Peacock’s Premium plan is the ad-supported option that’s 5.99/month and comes with over 80,000 hours of TV series, movies and sports. You’ll also have access to live sports and events, new and original shows, movies and Peacock exclusives as well as over 50 always on live TV channels and current Bravo shows.
The Premium Plus plan is $11.99/month and includes everything in the Premium plan as well as no ads, the ability to download and watch eligible programs offline and your local NBC channel live. For additional savings, you can opt for the annual plan, which gives you 12 months for only the cost of 10.
More Affordable Streaming Options
Looking for even more savings? There are some live TV streamers that have promos and free trials available, so you can stream Jung Kook on The Tonight Show and The Today Show online for free.
DirecTV Stream not only comes with a 5-day free trial, but is also offering $10 off the first three months (after the free-trial ends), which means you can save an additional $30. After your free trial ends you’ll be charged the regular subscription price based on the plan you choose.
Another option is fuboTV, which has a 7-day free trial and includes the NBC channel. You’ll be able to watch both shows for free along with hundreds of other live TV channels and sports. All plans also include DVR storage to record programs to watch later. Once the free trial has ended you’ll be charged the regular subscription based on the plan you choose at checkout.
SlingTV also offers the NBC channel and multiple plans that you can personalize to your liking. While the streamer doesn’t offer a free trial, they do have a 50% off promo going on that gives you half off your first month.
Hulu + Live TV offers the most amount of content as you’ll receive hundreds of live TV channels in addition to the Hulu library. The platform also offers a 30-day free trial, which means you can watch Jung Kook online for free. After your free trial is over you’ll be charged the regular subscription price of $76.99/month.
If you like bundling, you can expand your content library even more by bundling Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN+.
Most tracks on Spotify will not be eligible to receive royalties based on the company’s proposed royalty scheme that will go into effect in 2024. That’s because a track must reach a threshold of 1,000 streams within 12 months to receive royalty payouts, according to an article this week written by Kristin Graziani, president of music distributor Stem. A source with knowledge of the plan confirmed the details to Billboard.
According to Spotify’s Loud & Clear website, 37.5 million tracks had surpassed 1,000 all-time streams as of 2022. That’s out of a catalog of 100 million tracks at the end of 2022, per Spotify’s 2022 annual report. In other words, almost two-thirds of Spotify’s catalog has never reached the 12-month minimum stream count to be eligible to receive royalties. Given that’s all-time streams since the company launched in 2008, it stands to reason that fewer yet will reach 1,000 streams within a 12-month period.
While this 1,000-stream threshold affects a large number of tracks, it doesn’t impact much of Spotify’s royalties to creators and rights holders. Implementing the threshold will shift about 0.5% of Spotify’s royalty pool to more popular tracks, a source tells Billboard. That was equal to about $46 million in royalties in 2022, based on Spotify’s $9.27 billion cost of sales that year, which represents virtually all royalty payouts.
Tackling fraudulent streams could have a larger impact than a minimum threshold. Spotify’s new royalty scheme also imposes financial penalties for music distributors and labels when fraudulent activity has been detected on tracks they uploaded. That should incentivize distributors to locate and remove fraudulent tracks before they can get to streaming platforms.
Various estimates put fraudulent tracks’ share of listening — at Spotify and elsewhere — at 3% to 10% of total streams. With the 2022 global streaming market valued at $17.5 billion, according to the IFPI, up to $1 billion worth of streaming royalties globally is ending up in the wrong hands. Removing those fraudulent streams from eligibility means all other tracks will receive a greater share of the royalty pool.
French music company Believe would get a “significant double-digit” percentage growth in its market share at Deezer under the company’s new artist-centric royalty scheme, Believe CEO Denis Ladegaillerie said during the company’s Oct. 24 earnings call. The bulk of that impact comes from fighting streaming fraud and abuse, said Ladegaillerie, adding that Deezer has a “much higher” level of streaming fraud and abuse than Spotify and Apple Music. In contrast, he added, changing how royalties are allocated to artists would impact an “extremely marginal” amount of royalties.
A cleaner, easier way to improve all artists’ royalties — one resisted by streaming services until recently — is to raise subscription prices. Every time a streaming service raises fees by 10% — such as Spotify going from $9.99 to $10.99 per month in the U.S. in July — the royalties earned from those subscribers increase a commensurate amount. Deezer has raised its price twice in less than two years. Amazon Music, Apple Music and YouTube Music have also raised prices in the last year.
Apple is shuttering the Apple Music Voice plan, which let users access songs only through Siri for $4.99 per month. Apple initially announced the Voice plan in October 2021. Users who found using the app too taxing or too expensive could request music by mood — tunes for a dinner party or for studying — […]
Slacker, the music streaming service owned by LiveOne, called off its planned merger with Roth CH Acquisition V Co., a special purpose acquisition company, the companies announced Monday (Oct. 30).
LiveOne CEO Robert Ellin attributed the move to a poor market climate for small companies. “Market conditions for micro-cap stocks, for stocks under $1 billion, are just decimated this year as a whole,” he says. Companies that go public through SPAC mergers also face a difficult time, he adds. A SPAC is a blank-check company created and funded for taking a private company public. SPAC funding and mergers peaked in 2021, according to SPAC Research.
The SPAC market has softened considerably since 2021. Many SPACs failed to close a deal and returned their funds to shareholders. Music Acquisition Corp. returned funds to shareholders in Dec. 2022. Liberty Media closed down its SPAC in Nov. 2022 after a fruitless search for a takeover target. A record 123 SPACs liquidated in the first half of 2023, compared to just seven in the prior-year period, and the average redemption rate — SPAC shares redeemed for full value before merging with a target company — increased in the first half of 2023, according to Kroll. “It’s a tough market to come out in,” says Ellin.
Additionally, LiveOne believes Slacker has gained in value since it agreed to merge with Roth. LiveOne previously announced it had signed a letter of intent to merge Slacker with Roth and put a pre-money valuation of $160 million on the music streamer. But on Monday, LiveOne raised its revenue guidance for Slacker to the range of $63 million to $66 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. The company expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $17 million to $19 million.
“I think it’s worth $200 million at a minimum,” says Ellin, “and probably way higher than that when you’re looking at what Tidal sold for at $400 million and change, where Deezer trades at 300 million [euros, or $317 million]. We’re the only one that’s profitable. We make money every month, every quarter, every year.”
The market currently puts a far lower value on Slacker, however. LiveOne — including Slacker — has a $92 million market capitalization. That includes an 81% stake in PodcastOne, a podcast company LiveOne spun off in September that currently has a market capitalization of $70 million. LiveOne said that prior to the spin-off, PodcastOne was valued at between $230 million and $274 million by third-party valuation firm ValueScope.
Slacker was founded in 2007 and acquired by LiveOne — then called LiveXLive Media — in 2017 for $50 million. Many of its subscribers come from a white-label service that powers other brands’ digital radio. For example, nearly every new Tesla automobile sold in the United States comes with a subscription to Tesla Radio that’s provided by Slacker and paid for by the automaker. LiveOne says it added over 300,000 new paid Tesla subscribers in the first five months of its fiscal year, a 30% year-over-year increase. The company expects to add over 800,000 new subscribers this fiscal year.
With the SPAC merger off the table, Ellin sees numerous potential avenues for Slacker. “There’s an opportunity today to roll up multiple other companies in the space,” he said during an investor call on Wednesday (Nov. 1). “We have four to five potential acquisitions in the audio business alone that would fit in very nicely with the company and be extraordinarily accretive to revenues and bottom line. We also could explore a sale or a strategic investor, including some of our current customers or investors. We also will explore a direct IPO as the markets change and fair market value for the numbers that we’ve delivered are available.”
Roth “is currently exploring opportunities with other potential merger candidates in order to complete its business combination,” according to Monday’s press release.