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Music Business Worldwide: Newsletter

Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners sells 50% stake in music library to $200m-backed Multimedia Music

There’s a lot of buzz around classic movie scores right now – as rumors swirl that Warner Bros Discovery is close to agreeing a $500m-ish deal to sell around 50% of its treasured music catalog. Sony is reported to be the front-runner to buy.

But that’s not the only major music deal being thrashed out in Tinseltown.

Multimedia Music, the UK-headquartered company founded by industry veterans Phil Hope and James Gibb, just announced its latest major acquisition.

The company has agreed a deal for a 50% stake in a catalog of music master and publishing rights from Amblin Partners, the company founded by Steven Spielberg and best known for its movie and TV production houses, Amblin Entertainment and Amblin Television… (MBW) 

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$500m-backed Litmus Music acquires music rights from Benny Blanco

Last summer, music industry veterans Hank Forsyth and Dan McCarroll teamed up with Carlyle Global Credit to launch a venture called Litmus Music.

New York-based Litmus said that it would focus on acquiring and managing both publishing and recorded music rights, with Carlyle Global Credit committing an initial $500 million to do so.

The first deal arrived in December in the form of Keith Urban’s master recordings catalog, including ten multi-platinum, platinum or gold-certified studio albums and a greatest hits compilation.

On Wednesday (June 28), Litmus announced that it has acquired a “portfolio of compositions” from songwriter and producer Benny Blanco, covering what it says are “numerous multi-platinum hits and hundreds of songs…” (MBW)

The 3 major music companies employed over 27,000 people between them last year – up by 6,660 on 2017

The three major music companies had 27,292 employees on their books in the past year, according to financial filings posted by each of them in recent months.

The 27,292 figure – which covers both permanent and temporary staff – was up by more than 1,000 people on the cumulative headcount of the ‘big three’ one year previously (26,205).

It was also up by 6,660 on the 20,632 aggregate headcount the three firms shared five years prior… (MBW Data)

Kool & The Gang’s George Brown strikes ‘multi-million-dollar’ catalog deal with Primary Wave

Viberate launches Independent Artist platform offering distribution and advances up to $1m

Slovenia-headquartered music data company Viberate has expanded its services with a new platform for independent musicians. The newly launched Viberate for Artists offers music distribution to all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tencent Music. Viberate for Artists also provides booking and promotion tools, playlist and festival pitching a free one-sheet tool, and professional artist analytics covering streaming and social media channels. Viberate says that its new suite of tools are, “for musicians who want to remain independent or are looking for a launchpad to a record deal”. Additionally, via the new hub, Viberate will offer funding for independent musicians in the form of advances of up to $1 million on future streaming royalties… (MBW)

MBW’S QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The live music industry has faced many challenges but we always come back stronger because of the artists and their fans who are at the core of what we do.”

Live music agent Lucy Dickins is to be recognized at this year’s Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS) event in London in recognition of her 25+ year career. The MITS Award, now in its 32nd year, will be presented to Dickins on Monday November 6 at a gala ceremony in The Great Room, Grosvenor House Hotel, held in aid of two music charities in the UK: The BRIT Trust and Nordoff & Robbins. As a music agent, Dickins represents Adele, along with a roster including Mumford & Sons, Stormzy SAULT, Cleo Sol, Little Simz, James Blake and Jamie T and more… (MBW)

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Don’t miss: PULSE Music Group launches PULSE Records with Concord

Los Angeles-based PULSE Music Group, which already operates across music publishing and artist management, is launching a new record label venture with Concord.

The new venture, called PULSE Records, will be supported by Concord’s existing label services platform and administrative teams. It will be led by PULSE Music Group Co-CEOs Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham, along with Ashley Calhoun, President/Head of Creative.

According to the announcement on Tuesday (June 27), the new label venture will see PULSE Music Group lead A&R, creative, and marketing services while Concord will provide “a global footprint, financial resources, administration, and label services for PULSE Records”.

The label will be a part of Concord Label Group and will be distributed through the company’s longtime relationship with Universal Music Group… (MBW)

Don’t miss: Snafu launches AI-powered ‘Snafu Song Fund’ financing for indie artists backed by $7m round led by Pophouse Entertainment

Sweden-based Snafu Records has attracted a fair bit of industry attention since launching in February 2020 with $2.9 million in seed funding.

In 2021, Snafu, a record label and A&R tool that uses artificial intelligence to discover new music, completed a $6 million funding round led by Pophouse Ventures, with participation from TheVentureCollective, ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog and Savan Kotecha.

Now, Snafu is announcing a new $7 million round of funding in “equity and credit” led by Pophouse Entertainment... (MBW)

JOB OF THE WEEK

Symphonic Distribution is a 100% independent music distribution and marketing company headquartered in downtown Tampa, FL and with a strong presence in New York City, Nashville, and major music markets across the world. We are looking for a highly motivated and detail-oriented Royalties Manager who has strong leadership skills and the ability to work independently, as well as coordinate with team members. The location is flexible/remote, with a preference for the Tampa, FL area, the New York City tri-state area, or the Nashville, TN area.

[Click here to find out more]

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