DEALS
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Bella Figura Music has closed a new round of funding led by private equity firm Freshstream to continue its run of buying up music catalogues. “We aim to continue building and enhancing our catalogue of beautiful music while generating significant value for creators and rights owners”, says CEO Alexi Cory-Smith. “Bella Figura is built for the digital music age, unburdened by legacy systems with a strategy that truly reflects how we all access and consume music in today’s world. We are delighted to have a growing base of investors joining us on this journey”.
🗣️
Sony Music has acquired podcast production company Neon Hum. The deal comes five years after the major made a strategic investment in the company and sees Neon Hum founder Jonathan Hirsch become VP Global Podcasts and Head Of US Creative at Sony Music’s Global Podcast Division. “Neon Hum and Sony Music have always been aligned in our audio-first mentality and approach”, he says. “I’m excited for the next steps as the Neon Hum team becomes a full part of Sony Music Podcasts and we continue to produce premium audio content”.
🤖
Feed.fm has partnered with AI music tagging and search company Cyanite to improve music discoverability on its platform. “We are very excited about AI solutions' potential to help the music industry strengthen licensing compliance while also growing total revenues for recorded music”, says Feed.fm’s VP Product Brita Nordin. “Cyanite is a leader in building AI technology that delivers tangible value to music rights holders and companies that rely on music to grow their business”.
APPOINTMENTS
🇫🇷
Paris-based music festival and conference MaMA has announced that co-founder Fernando Ladeiro-Marques has taken ownership of the organisation, following the retirement of its other co-founder Daniel Colling. It has also announced a number of appointments to its conference programming team. Emmanuel Legrand becomes coordinator of the main programme; Emily Gonneau joins as curator of the MaMA Invent strand; Flavien Appavou becomes coordinator of new ideas and social trends forum Le CosyLab; and Elise Yacoub is coordinator of the overall MaMA convention.
DIGITAL
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Apple has announced that it will relax its App Store rules that prohibit app developers from signposting users to payment methods outside its own ecosystem. Under the changes, which will only apply within the European Economic Area, music streaming apps will be allowed to invite users to submit an email address to receive information about other ways to pay for subscriptions. This follows the €1.8 billion fine levied against Apple by the EU for "abusing its dominant position" in relation to the distribution of music streaming apps for iOS devices. Apple is appealing that fine.
GIGS & FESTIVALS
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If you’re hoping to get Glastonbury tickets in this year’s resale, there is good news and bad. The good is that the date when you’ll get your chance will be announced shortly. The bad is that, according to Emily Eavis in a post on Instagram, the event had the “highest percentage of ticket balances paid ever” when the deadline passed last week. As a result, the amount of tickets set to be put back up for sale is “very limited”.
💭
Dream Theater have announced that they will play a 40th anniversary show at the O2 Arena in London on 20 Oct. It will be their first show since reuniting with drummer Mike Portnoy. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
🎤
Chilly Gonzales has announced that he will play the Royal Albert Hall in London on 28 Oct. Tickets go on sale on Thursday.
✊
Rise Against have announced that they will play the Ritz in Manchester on 20 Aug and London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 21 Aug. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
RELEASES
🍯
Caribou has released new track ‘Honey’.
🪴
Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier will release his debut solo album ‘We Sang, Therefore We Were’ on 26 Apr. Out now is ‘Grow Like A Plant’.
💠
Mandy, Indiana are back with new track ‘Idea Is Best’, their first new music since last year’s excellent ‘I’ve Seen A Way’ album.
⚡
Girls In Synthesis have released new single ‘Deceit’. Their third album ‘Sublimation’ is out on 3 May.