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Warner Music Group pulls out of Believe takeover race
Warner ditches Believe takeover ambitions a day before bid deadline expires…
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Excessive spending, poor systems, missing documents and misleading statements: Shot Tower Capital’s blistering assessment of Hipgnosis Song Management couldn’t be much worse
Shot Tower Capital presented its findings to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund board in a blistering document that alleges significant mismanagement by Hipgnosis Song Management. HSM immediately issued a statement saying that key parts of the STC report are “factually inaccurate and misleading”…
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French indie label body UPFI calls on French government to intervene in potential Warner Music Group takeover of Believe
In a statement issued by UPFI the French independent label trade body says that it is concerned about the "potentially devastating consequences" if Warner Music Group is allowed to take over Believe saying that music creation in France would suffer…
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Utopia! Whotopia? The Swiss music company has a Proper strategy…
What does a defunct 1990s London-based ad agency have to do with Swiss music company Utopia? It involves a fat man smothered in orange body paint, a tin of quick drying wood preservative, and an ill-considered photo shoot described to CMU as “looking like it took place in a brothel”...…
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As BMG’s 2023 numbers show continued growth, could a merger with Warner Music or Believe be on the cards?
BMG’s renewed spend on acquisitions - primarily music rights - over the past three years is starting to pay off. With €847 million invested since 2020 it could make a lot of sense for WMG to buy BMG. Or could BMG make a bid for Believe?…
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French regulator AMF knocks back Believe consortium’s accelerated bid, giving Warner Music a chance to make a formal offer
WMG has access to Believe’s data and fourteen days to make a binding offer for the business. What does that mean and what does it look like? Can Warner find the cash? Even if it can, the deal would bring Warner, Believe and Deezer under common ownership - and will that pass regulatory oversight?…
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Prison sentence for unnamed Danish music executive in landmark “industry insider” streaming fraud case
An unnamed Danish music executive has been handed prison time for streaming fraud that took place over a six year period between 2013 and 2019, involving music stolen from known artists and around half a million pounds in royalties…
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University Of Kent axes music courses
The music industry has responded to the news that the University Of Kent is closing its music department. UK Music says it hopes that, as a General Election approaches, politicians will “reflect on the policy decisions” that have led to music courses being axed at this and other universities…
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MIDiA shows $35.1 billion in global recorded music revenues - but what does that number actually mean?
It’s music stats season and tomorrow the IFPI’s £25,000-a-pop Global Music Report is released. MIDiA released its own global recorded music revenues report earlier this week - and with significant differences in headline numbers likely, we take a look at why that is…
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Hipgnosis Songs Fund share price takes another battering as SONG says HSM made an “error” in key financial metric
If you thought the Hipgnosis vs Hipgnosis drama was already peaking, think again. It might barely even have started. In an announcement today, SONG yet again marked down the value of its assets sending the share price plummeting further…
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Think you understand the music industry’s revenue stats? Think again…
Headline stats for UK, France, Germany and Spain have been released in advance of IFPI’s Global Music Report - but they’re not as straightforward as they might seem. You can look at two sets of numbers that appear to represent the same thing, but are actually completely different.…
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Believe x WMG takeover dance warms up as financial regulator is called in
We’re not calling it a takeover battle - yet. After Warner quietly threatened to get the French financial markets authority to step into its maybe/maybe-not bid for Believe the independent committee at the French indie giant has gone straight for the throat and called them in itself…