From Ed Sheeran’s copyright attraction win to the asset-backed securities increase… it’s MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up

Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we ensure 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 maximize their earnings and cut back their touring prices.

The increase in music asset-backed securities got here into sharp focus this week, with information that Harmony closed its newest ABS transaction, which noticed the music firm increase $850 million.

We additionally realized this week that Duetti raised $80 million by way of an ABS transaction, which the corporate described as the primary securitization backed by indie music rights.

Talking of music investments, a brand new Kroll Bond Ranking Company report valued the Hipgnosis Songs Fund catalog at $2.36 billion, round $150 million greater than HSF’s enterprise worth when Blackstone acquired it.

Elsewhere within the business, it was a busy week for Common Music Group, which launched its Q3 earnings on Thursday (revenues at USD $3.15 billion, up 4.9% YoY at fixed foreign money) and introduced that EVP, CFO and President of Operations Boyd Muir has been promoted to the newly created function of Chief Working Officer.

UMG additionally introduced a strategic partnership with AI music startup KLAY, and its Virgin Music Group division made one other main worldwide acquisition, snapping up Outdustry, an artist and label companies and rights administration enterprise targeted on China and India.

Lastly, Reuters studies {that a} US appeals courtroom dominated on Friday (November 1) that Ed Sheeran’s hit single Considering Out Loud didn’t illegally copy Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, siding with a lower-court choose’s prior dismissal of the lawsuit from plaintiff Structured Asset Gross sales.

Right here’s what occurred this week…

1) THE HIPGNOSIS SONGS FUND CATALOG HAS JUST BEEN VALUED AT $2.36BN… AROUND $150M MORE THAN HSF’S ENTERPRISE VALUE WHEN BLACKSTONE ACQUIRED IT

In July, funding big Blackstone acquired Hipgnosis Songs Fund‘s property from HSF’s then-public shareholders in a transaction price USD $1.584 billion.

In keeping with MBW’s evaluation, that transaction – while you think about HSF’s debt – gave HSF’s portfolio of 45,000 songs an approximate enterprise worth of USD $2.20 billion.

That very same portfolio (initially amassed between 2018 and 2021 by ex-Hipgnosis boss Merck Mercuriadis) has simply been re-valued, courtesy of a brand new report from Kroll Bond Ranking Company.

And guess what? It not solely means that the songs acquired by Mercuriadis at HSF have considerably grown in worth – it additionally means that Blackstone received a little bit of a cut price when it purchased them…

2) CONCORD CLOSES $850M ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES TRANSACTION TO ‘FUEL STRATEGIC GROWTH AND ACQUISITIONS’

Harmony has efficiently closed its newest asset-backed securities (ABS) transaction, which sees the corporate increase $850 million in debt financing by way of a personal securitization backed by its catalog of music rights.

The corporate mentioned on Monday (October 28) that the transaction would “gas strategic development and acquisition[s]” and that it underscores its “ongoing effort to strategically develop and monetize its music property and place the corporate as a consequential power within the music business”.

Harmony’s ABS transaction is securitized by royalties from its catalog of over 1 million compositions, grasp recordings, and associated property together with works recorded by The Beatles, Carrie Underwood, Low-cost Trick, Creed, Genesis, Kiss, Mike + The Mechanics, Otis Redding, Phil Collins, Plain White T’s, R.E.M., R.E.O. Speedwagon, and The Rolling Stones…

3) UNIVERSAL MUSIC GENERATED $3.15BN IN Q3; SUBSCRIPTION STREAMING REVENUES GREW 8.2% YOY

Common Music Group has printed its monetary outcomes for the three months to the tip of September.

The headline determine from the world’s largest music rights firm’s Q3 outcomes: UMG generated revenues of EUR €2.870 billion (USD $3.15bn) through the quarter throughout all of its divisions (together with recorded music, publishing and extra). That Q3 income determine was up 4.9% YoY at fixed foreign money.

Amongst UMG’s different Q3 highlights was an 8.2% YoY bounce within the firm’s subscription streaming revenues.

On the corporate’s quarterly earnings name, Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge introduced that Boyd Muir, EVP, CFO and President of Operations at UMG, has been promoted to the newly created function of Chief Working Officer…

4) UNIVERSAL’S VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP ACQUIRES OUTDUSTRY, EXPANDING ITS PRESENCE IN CHINA AND INDIA

Virgin Music Group, Common Music Group‘s international indie artist and label companies division, has acquired once more.

This time, VMG has swooped for Outdustry, an artist and label companies and rights administration enterprise targeted on China, India and different “high-potential markets”.

The deal marks the newest international M&A transfer from Common‘s Virgin Music Group, and follows the acquisition of Saban Music Latin in January.

As a part of the deal, Outdustry founder Ed Peto has been named Senior Vice President of Worldwide Technique at Virgin Music Group, whereas additionally persevering with his function as CEO of Outdustry…

5) ED SHEERAN BEATS ‘THINKING OUT LOUD’ COPYRIGHT APPEAL

As reported by Reuters, a US appeals courtroom dominated on Friday (November 1) that Ed Sheeran’s hit single Considering Out Loud didn’t illegally copy Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, siding with a lower-court choose’s prior dismissal of the lawsuit from plaintiff Structured Asset Gross sales.

In Might 2023, US District Choose Louis Stanton dismissed the case introduced ahead by Structured Asset Gross sales LLC, reversing the unique ruling that the lawsuit deserved to be heard by a jury.

Choose Louis Stanton is similar choose who presided over a separate case involving the identical tracks by Sheeran and Gaye. The jury in that case dominated in favor of Sheeran towards the property of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. 

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.Music Enterprise Worldwide