[ad_1]
Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we ensure you caught the 5 largest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their earnings and cut back their touring prices.
Triller has not had an excellent week.
On Monday, the TikTok rival introduced that it “expects to develop into publicly traded on the Nasdaq underneath the ticker ILLR throughout the 4th quarter of this yr”, representing one more delay in Triller’s deliberate IPO.
Triller introduced in June that it had filed an S-1 type with the SEC for an IPO on the Nasdaq, stating on the time that its itemizing was “anticipated to be authorised by Q3”.
That June announcement itself got here shortly after Triller introduced it was scrapping one other deliberate IPO – this time through a merger with Seachange – which was initially anticipated to “shut in Q1 2022”.
Monday additionally introduced information that Triller has been hit with a lawsuit from Sony Music Entertainment (SME), claiming that Triller presently has no licensing settlement in place with SME, the world’s second-largest file firm.
And to high off the week, Billboard studies as we speak that Triller has been sued again, by an app consulting agency referred to as Phiture, over unpaid payments.
Additionally this week, MBW reported that Switzerland-headquartered music fintech firm Utopia is elevating €300 million in a Sequence C spherical that will worth its firm at €2.5 billion.
That’s based on MBW sources, who’ve seen proof that at the least one funding agent is presently providing would-be backers of Utopia a “pre-Sequence C funding alternative” at a €1.5 billion pre-money firm valuation.
MBW’s sources additionally inform us that UBS has been appointed to ship Utopia’s Sequence C spherical, deliberate for later this yr, at an estimated €2.5 billion to €2.7 billion valuation for Utopia.
MBW’s sources verify to us that Utopia has already efficiently raised over €100 million up to now 5 and a half years.
Elsewhere, Wednesday (August 31) introduced triumphant news for songwriters and publishers within the US, after Spotify and different music streaming platforms struck an settlement with music publishers for a 15.35% go-forward royalty charge within the US for the years 2023-2027.
Additionally, a brand new Raine Group-backed firm referred to as Firebird Music Holdings, based by Nat Zilkha, has acquired a stake in Crimson Mild Administration, whereas YouTube‘s Chief Enterprise Officer Robert Kyncl confirmed that he’s exiting his position on the platform. Is there an opportunity he’s going to Warner Music?
Right here’s what occurred this week…
Table of Contents
Monday (August 29) was alleged to be a celebratory day for short-form video platform Triller. Then Sony Music spoiled the social gathering.
US-based TikTok rival Triller introduced this week that it had accomplished a “substantial” pre-public financing spherical within the type of debt and fairness.
Triller didn’t put a quantity on stated financing, however the firm’s CEO and Chairman, Mahi de Silva, did verify that Triller had raised over USD $300 million thus far.
There was, nevertheless, a wrinkle in Triller’s press launch confirming its new increase. The corporate acknowledged that it now “expects to develop into publicly traded on the Nasdaq underneath the ticker ILLR throughout the 4th quarter of this yr”.
This seems to characterize one more delay in Triller’s deliberate IPO within the States. In June, Triller introduced that it had filed an S-1 type with the SEC for an IPO on the Nasdaq. On the time, it acknowledged that its itemizing was “anticipated to be authorised by Q3”.
That June announcement itself got here shortly after Triller introduced it was scrapping one other deliberate IPO – this time through a merger with Seachange – which was initially anticipated to “shut in Q1 2022”.
The larger headache for Triller, although, is a brand new lawsuit from Sony Music Leisure (SME), filed within the US on Monday (August 29).
It claims that Triller presently has no licensing settlement in place with Sony Music, the world’s second-largest file firm…
MBW’s sources have seen proof that at the least one funding agent is presently providing would-be backers of Utopia a “pre-Sequence C funding alternative” at a €1.5 billion pre-money firm valuation.
Utopia is seemingly searching for a “robust institutional investor” to guide this pre-Sequence C spherical.
This, although, is simply the appetizer. The entrée is Utopia’s deliberate Sequence C spherical later this yr, during which it’s seeking to increase €300 million.
MBW’s sources inform us that UBS has been appointed to ship this Sequence C spherical at an estimated €2.5 billion to €2.7 billion valuation for Utopia.
Utopia has apparently accomplished authorized/monetary due diligence with quite a lot of monetary establishments – together with BearingPoint, PWC, UBS and others – forward of this Sequence C increase…
‘Phonorecords IV’ – which units the on-demand streaming mechanical charges within the US for the 5 years between 2023 and 2027 – was set to get underway later this yr.
In the course of the ‘pre-battle’ interval of ‘Phonorecords IV’ final yr, the NMPA set out its stall for the publishers, suggesting to the CRB that the headline US streaming mechanical charge for 2023-2027 needs to be as excessive as 20%.
Main streamers, unsurprisingly, lowballed as compared: Spotify, Amazon, and Pandora all prompt that the speed needs to be knocked again right down to 10.5%.
The stage was set for an additional (pricey) authorized battle royale! However… we’re not getting one.
As a result of on Wednesday (August 31), the NMPA and the commerce org for digital music providers within the US (DiMA), plus the Nashville Songwriters Affiliation Worldwide (NSAI), introduced that they’re submitting a joint proposal to the CRB which means that the brand new 2023-2027 on-demand streaming mechanical charge within the US needs to be set at 15.35%…
4) FIREBIRD TAKES FLIGHT, ACQUIRING A STAKE IN RED LIGHT MANAGEMENT – WITH MORE DEALS ON THE WAY
On the high of this yr, Music Enterprise Worldwide informed you we’d be holding an in depth eye on the strikes of Nat Zilkha – a revered deal-maker with confirmed pedigree within the music business.
US-based Zilkha left his position as a Companion at KKR in December 2021. He’d spent the earlier 15 years on the funding home, the place he was instrumental in varied main music-related offers involving the likes of Ryan Tedder, BMG, and others.
Asserting his departure from KKR final yr, Zilkha teased that he would quickly be launching “a brand new, entrepreneurial endeavor targeted on the music business”, whereas sustaining his position as Chairman of Gibson Manufacturers (and likewise persevering with to behave as a senior advisor to KKR).
Should you checked Zilkha’s LinkedIn as we speak, you’d study that following his departure from KKR, he turned co-founder and Govt Chairman of a brand new enterprise referred to as Firebird Music Holdings. He describes this Aspen, Colorado-headquartered agency as an “artist-centered, music-focused media firm”.
Over the previous few weeks, MBW has been studying extra about Firebird, and its technique to purchase its approach into fast-growing music firms – notably artist administration firms – of assorted sizes and shapes.
We’ve discovered through our sources, for instance, that Zilkha’s co-founder in Firebird is Los Angeles-based Nathan Hubbard, a former CEO of Ticketmaster and a former international head of Media & Commerce at Twitter.
We’ve moreover discovered that Firebird’s major backer is Raine Group, an present investor in music firms akin to SoundCloud, C3 Presents, and Amuse.
The largest transfer that Firebird has made to this point?
In response to a number of sources with information of the matter, it’s acquired a significantly-sized minority stake in one of many world’s most established artist administration firms: Crimson Mild Administration…
There was a time in latest historical past when Robert Kyncl was the only real senior determine at YouTube tasked with most ceaselessly interacting with the music business.
That largely modified in 2016 when Kyncl welcomed music biz vet Lyor Cohen to YouTube because the service’s World Head of Music.
Since then, Kyncl’s direct dealings with highly effective music rightsholders have lessened considerably, however – as Chief Enterprise Officer at YouTube – his international affect on the Alphabet/Google-owned firm has continued to develop.
Till now, that’s – as we study that Kyncl is formally stepping down from his position at YouTube after 12 years with the platform…
Music Enterprise Worldwide
Source link
