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

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

“Value, value, value!” is the mantra at Spotify as Ek downplays the negatives

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Spotify • 4 min read

“Value, value, value!” is the mantra at Spotify as Ek downplays the negatives

Daniel Ek fixed a grin to his face and smiled hard as he ran us all through the company’s somewhat lacklustre numbers for Q1. Firing 1700 people helped the company show a €168 million profit, but no one - least of all Ek - seemed to anticipate the chaos shedding that many people could cause…

Sam Taylor • 24 Apr 2024

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Hipgnosis • 7 min read

The state of Hipgnosis

Have you ever dropped something - an entire bowl of trifle, for example - only to catch it before it hits the floor, your split second reactions kicking in as though time had slowed down? When time turns to treacle, normal things can lose all meaning. Welcome to the state of Hipgnosis.…

Sam Taylor • 23 Apr 2024

⏩ One Liners: RAK Publishing, FAC Artist Ambassadors, CIISA + more

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One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 4 min read

⏩ One Liners: RAK Publishing, FAC Artist Ambassadors, CIISA + more

Bella Figura snaps up RAK catalogue; Deezer does ad-sales deal with Global; Big Life Management promotions; new Artist Ambassadors for FAC; new music from Lambrini Girls, mui zyu, LYLO…

Sam Taylor • 23 Apr 2024

Blackstone tops Concord offer for SONG, hints at invoking call option

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Hipgnosis • 5 min read

Blackstone tops Concord offer for SONG, hints at invoking call option

The elephants are on parade again... Blackstone gets heavy with SONG board and goes public with a potential $1.24 offer for beleaguered song rights fund - 7% higher than Concord's offer on Thursday…

Sam Taylor • 20 Apr 2024

Believe board backs buyout bid - but company will remain listed on Paris exchange

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Believe • 5 min read

Believe board backs buyout bid - but company will remain listed on Paris exchange

Believe’s move to private equity backing now looks like a done deal. The twist is that shareholders won’t be forced to sell their shares and can participate in Believe’s long term growth through a continued public listing, while sources point to “upcoming consolidation” in music industry…

Sam Taylor • 19 Apr 2024

Hipgnosis debacle might be over as Concord offers to acquire entire share capital of SONG - but there’s a catch…

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Hipgnosis • 4 min read

Hipgnosis debacle might be over as Concord offers to acquire entire share capital of SONG - but there’s a catch…

Just like your favourite soap opera coming to an end, shed a tear as Hipgnosis v Hipgnosis packs its trunk and says goodbye to the circus, drawing the months-long drama to a close. But wait! There might be a twist…

Sam Taylor • 18 Apr 2024

Live Nation is going to show you just how entertaining golf can be. No, really. Prepare yourselves...

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation is going to show you just how entertaining golf can be. No, really. Prepare yourselves...

Isn’t golf great? We all love a bit of golf. Who doesn’t? Where else can you enjoy power, entertainment and a walk with lots of rests? It really is the perfect sport. Vehemently pro-golf company Live Nation has now teamed up with golfing body The R&A to take The Women’s Open “to the next level”…

Sam Taylor • 18 Apr 2024

Warner Music Group pulls out of Believe takeover race

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Warner Music • 2 min read

Warner Music Group pulls out of Believe takeover race

Warner ditches Believe takeover ambitions a day before bid deadline expires…

Sam Taylor • 06 Apr 2024

Excessive spending, poor systems, missing documents and misleading statements: Shot Tower Capital’s blistering assessment of Hipgnosis Song Management couldn’t be much worse

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Hipgnosis • 6 min read

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”…

Sam Taylor • 01 Apr 2024

French indie label body UPFI calls on French government to intervene in potential Warner Music Group takeover of Believe

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Believe • 5 min read

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…

Sam Taylor • 29 Mar 2024

Utopia! Whotopia? The Swiss music company has a Proper strategy…

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Utopia Music • 4 min read

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”...…

Sam Taylor • 28 Mar 2024