Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we be certain you caught the 5 greatest 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.
This week, Utopia Music grew to become the most recent firm to considerably lower the scale of its international workforce.
The acquisitive Switzerland-headquartered firm confirmed to MBW that it has made numerous layoffs.
A Utopia spokesperson instructed us that, “Like many progress corporations in in the present day’s macroeconomic surroundings, Utopia is making modifications to its inner construction to optimize the enterprise”.
Information of job losses at Utopia follows a wave of layoffs sweeping throughout the tech-leaning aspect of the worldwide music enterprise.
Additionally this week, Warner Music Group reported its monetary outcomes for calendar Q3 2022 (the three months to finish of September).
The corporate instructed traders that it generated whole revenues of USD $1.497 billion throughout recorded music, music publishing and different actions, up 16% YoY at fixed foreign money.
This quarterly earnings announcement was the final in Steve Cooper‘s 11-year tenure as Chief Govt of WMG; Cooper will likely be succeeded within the function within the New Yr by YouTube‘s Chief Enterprise Officer, Robert Kyncyl.
Elsewhere, Common Music Group-owned Deutsche Grammophon, which claims to be the world’s oldest report label, unveiled its personal high-res classical music streaming service.
Plus, artist financing platform beatBread closed a $100 million institutional fund, whereas a Senate committee plans to carry a listening to to look at the US ticketing business.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
1) UTOPIA MUSIC MAKES LAYOFFS AS IT DOWNSIZES GLOBAL WORKFORCE
Utopia Music has change into the most recent firm to considerably lower the scale of its international workforce.
The acquisitive Switzerland-headquartered firm has confirmed to MBW that it has made numerous layoffs.
Sources counsel these cuts have primarily are available Utopia’s central staff – together with some high-level executives – in addition to its tech-focused workforce.
To this point, Utopia’s tech workers have been tasked with constructing the agency’s proprietary music monitoring platform, generally referenced because the ‘Utopia Open Platform’ (UOP).
MBW understands that Utopia’s international staff numbers 1,200 individuals. That determine consists of each contractors and round 800 workers…
2) WARNER MUSIC GROUP GENERATED $92M FROM ‘EMERGING PLATFORMS’ IN CALENDAR Q3 – AND OTHER TAKEAWAYS FROM STEVE COOPER’S LAST EARNINGS CALL WITH WMG
Warner Music Group‘s earnings name on Tuesday (November 22) ended on an upbeat word – and it’s straightforward to see why.
WMG posted revenues of $1.5 billion for the three months to finish of September (up 16% YoY at fixed foreign money), with adjusted EBITDA additionally up by 16% YoY.
Because of this, WMG’s share value flew upward by 15% on Tuesday, as Financial institution Of America upgraded the agency’s inventory.
Fittingly, this glowing quarterly earnings announcement was the final in Steve Cooper’s 11-year tenure as Chief Govt of WMG; Cooper will likely be succeeded within the function within the New Yr by YouTube’s Chief Enterprise Officer, Robert Kyncyl…
3) UNIVERSAL JUST LAUNCHED ITS OWN STREAMING SERVICE FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC VIA DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
Common Music Group-owned Deutsche Grammophon, which claims to be the world’s oldest report label, simply launched its personal high-res classical music streaming service.
Known as STAGE+, the service is described by Deutsche Grammophon in a press launch as “ground-breaking”. The label calls it the “newest milestone in classical music’s digital growth”.
Based on the STAGE+ web site, a subscription for the service will value EUR €14.90 per thirty days, or €149 per yr…
4) ARTIST FINANCING PLATFORM BEATBREAD CLOSES $100M FUND TO ‘EMPOWER INDEPENDENT ARTISTS AND LABELS’
Music funding platform beatBread has been making a number of head-turning headlines this yr.
In February, for instance, the agency raised $34 million in a seed spherical led by Fintech-focused enterprise capital agency, Deciens Capital.
Over the summer season, beatBread struck what it stated was a “seven-figure artist financing deal” with singer-songwriter Elley Duhé – its greatest deal but.
Now, MBW can reveal that beatBread has massive plans to speed up its progress within the artist funding area, and it’s simply closed a $100 million institutional fund with asset supervisor Variant Investments to take action..
5) SENATE COMMITTEE TO HOLD TICKET INDUSTRY COMPETITION HEARING AFTER TAYLOR SWIFT TOUR SALE DRAMA
US Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competitors Coverage, Antitrust, and Shopper Rights, confirmed on Tuesday (November 22) that they’ll maintain a listening to to “study” what they are saying is a “lack of competitors within the ticketing business”.
In a press launch, they write that listening to follows the “vital service failures and delays on Ticketmaster’s web site that left followers unable to buy live performance tickets”.
Klobuchar and Lee stated that the listening to date and witnesses will likely be introduced at a later date…
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-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.
