Sam Taylor - CMU | the music business explained (Page 7)

Spotify needs to find a path to consistent profitability. Are high res audio and AI playlists really the answer?

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Spotify • 9 min read

Spotify needs to find a path to consistent profitability. Are high res audio and AI playlists really the answer?

With its deadline to repay $1.3 billion in debt getting closer, Spotify needs to do anything it can to increase top line revenues and hit a consistent streak of profitability. It’s time to talk SUPREMIUM again!…

Sam Taylor • 12 Jun 2024

Blackstone has found another $12 million down the back of the sofa to sweeten its $1.6 billion Hipgnosis deal

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Hipgnosis • 4 min read

Blackstone has found another $12 million down the back of the sofa to sweeten its $1.6 billion Hipgnosis deal

$12 million is nothing when you’re Blackstone - even if you are basically bidding against yourself. When the red mist sets in, any price is a good price. And when a scheme of arrangement is involved, doubly so. City gibberish? Perhaps. More drama? Definitely!…

Sam Taylor • 03 Jun 2024

Madonna show was too late, too sexy, too hot alleges whiney concert-goer

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Madonna • 4 min read

Madonna show was too late, too sexy, too hot alleges whiney concert-goer

Madonna has been sued yet again in relation to her poor time-keeping when it comes to her arrival on stage. This latest lawsuit has been filed by a fan who also complains about being “forced to watch topless women on stage simulating sex acts” and being so hot that they became “physically ill”…

Sam Taylor • 31 May 2024

AI is a “generational inflection point” for the music business, says Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer

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Sony Music • 4 min read

AI is a “generational inflection point” for the music business, says Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer

Sony boss says the major will go where its artists want to go when it comes to AI - but reckless and unlicensed misuse of music by AI platforms is unacceptable. Short form video and ad-supported streaming need to pay more - and Sony isn’t interested in mad multiples when it comes to catalogue deals…

Sam Taylor • 30 May 2024

Parklife founder Sacha Lord under pressure as Arts Council and GMCA launch investigations into COVID funding

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Sacha Lord • 4 min read

Parklife founder Sacha Lord under pressure as Arts Council and GMCA launch investigations into COVID funding

Live industry luminary Sacha Lord threatened to sue online publication The Manchester Mill after they alleged wrongdoing relating to an Arts Council funding application. Now he's done a 180 and says he won't sue... for now…

Sam Taylor • 24 May 2024

Utopia swings the axe again with significant job losses across remaining non-UK operations

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Utopia Music • 4 min read

Utopia swings the axe again with significant job losses across remaining non-UK operations

More popcorn than Unicorn: the Utopian misadventure is effectively over. Utopia Music AG is now Proper Group AG with the company saying it is entering a “new era”…

Sam Taylor • 13 May 2024

SXSW London could disrupt delicately balanced music ecosystem and should reconsider its date

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SXSW • 9 min read

SXSW London could disrupt delicately balanced music ecosystem and should reconsider its date

SXSW is coming to London backed by a shadowy web of offshore companies, endorsed by the Mayor of London - and with a PR boss who conveniently worked as a senior press advisor in the London mayor’s office for sixteen years…

Sam Taylor • 09 May 2024

Lucian’s lunch money under threat as shareholder pressure mounts over “excessive” pay packet

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Lucian Grainge • 4 min read

Lucian’s lunch money under threat as shareholder pressure mounts over “excessive” pay packet

Lucian Grainge is inches away from getting a massive bonus as the UMG share price nears €30 per share, while investors are looking for signs that his STIs could be out of control. That’s short-term incentives, you filthy dogs…

Sam Taylor • 07 May 2024

Could Co-op Group terminate Manchester arena naming rights deal? Fury mounts as safety incident forces yet more Co-op Live show cancellations

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Co-op Live • 6 min read

Could Co-op Group terminate Manchester arena naming rights deal? Fury mounts as safety incident forces yet more Co-op Live show cancellations

As Co-op Live cancels yet another show, the fall-out is beginning to impact on the reputation of Co-op Group, the venue’s naming partner. As a member-owned society this could be at odds with its governing rules that say directors have a responsibility to “maintain the reputation” of Co-op Group…

Sam Taylor • 02 May 2024

Deezer sees some growth in first quarter of 2024

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Deezer • 1 min read

Deezer sees some growth in first quarter of 2024

Deezer has published its figures for the first quarter of 2024, which show that its average revenue per user is better than Spotify’s and its partnerships are booming. It still obviously remains one of the smaller players in streaming, but it will nonetheless be happy with the latest stats…

Sam Taylor • 01 May 2024

Blackstone upstages Concord with $1.30 Hipgnosis Songs Fund bid

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Hipgnosis • 2 min read

Blackstone upstages Concord with $1.30 Hipgnosis Songs Fund bid

Another day and another revised bid for SONG. Blackstone has upped its offer, SONG’s board recommends the offer, so we can all rest tight. Until tomorrow. When will this all end? Are we really going to have to ensure another month of this?…

Sam Taylor • 29 Apr 2024

To the moon! Concord reaches for the high notes as it ups its SONG bid to $1.25

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Hipgnosis • 5 min read

To the moon! Concord reaches for the high notes as it ups its SONG bid to $1.25

Luccia Di Lammermoor opened in Covent Garden last week. If you didn’t get tickets don’t worry: there’s a piece of opera every bit as dramatic - and as likely to end in a bloodbath - playing out as Concord and Blackstone look set to fight to the bitter end in the Hipgnosis Songs Fund takeover race…

Sam Taylor • 24 Apr 2024