From Pink Floyd’s $400m deal to TikTok’s scrapped Merlin talks… it’s MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up

Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we ensure that 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 revenue and scale back their touring prices.

Final week, TikTok made headlines for shutting down its subscription music streaming service.

This week, the ByteDance-owned app made headlines for shutting down its re-licensing negotiations with indie rep Merlin.

In different massive information this week, Pink Floyd agreed to promote their recorded music catalog to Sony Music in an settlement price roughly USD $400 million, in keeping with sources.

In the meantime, in Los Angeles, expertise large Artistic Artists Company (CAA) filed a lawsuit in opposition to administration agency Vary Media Companions, accusing the corporate of “stealing” confidential information and of being “an unlicensed expertise company”.

Elsewhere this week, we reported that Sony Music GSA has undergone a significant restructuring beneath new CEO Christoph Behm, whereas Spotify began notifying subscribers in Canada that its costs are going up out there.

Right here’s what occurred this week…

1) TIKTOK: WE SHUT DOWN MERLIN NEGOTIATION OVER FEARS ABOUT STREAMING FRAUD

It’s true: MBW has confirmed that TikTok just lately scrapped re-licensing discussions with Merlin, regardless of the indie group’s present take care of the ByteDance platform expiring on October 31.

As an alternative of agreeing a blanket take care of Merlin, TikTok is as an alternative inviting particular person Merlin members to barter direct licensing offers with its crew.

Merlin claims that its members symbolize 15% of worldwide recorded music consumption by market share. So why would TikTok stroll away from the negotiating desk?

The reason being one thing of a shock: as business dialogue over streaming fraud grows ever-louder, TikTok has known as into query the legitimacy of music delivered to its platform by sure Merlin members.

2) SONY STRIKES DEAL TO ACQUIRE PINK FLOYD CATALOG IN $400 MILLION DEAL, SAY SOURCES

The deal is completed: Pink Floyd has this week agreed to promote their recorded music catalog to Sony Music in an settlement price roughly USD $400 million, in keeping with sources.

The transaction is known to incorporate Floyd’s recordings catalog, plus neighboring rights, plus ‘title and likeness’ rights. It doesn’t embody publishing rights.

The information was first reported on Tuesday (October 1) by the Monetary Instances…

3) RANGE MEDIA PARTNERS SUED BY TALENT GIANT CAA FOR ALLEGED THEFT OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

A blockbuster authorized dispute is brewing in Hollywood.

Expertise large CAA (Artistic Artists Company) has filed a lawsuit in opposition to administration agency Vary Media Companions this week, accusing it of “stealing confidential info” forward of the latter firm’s launch in 2020.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles’ Superior Court docket on Monday (September 30), additionally claims that Vary is “an unlicensed expertise company constructed on deceit…”

4) SONY MUSIC GSA RESTRUCTURES UNDER NEW CEO CHRISTOPH BEHM

Sony Music GSA just lately skilled a management shakeup, with the corporate’s now-former boss Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba leaving the enterprise and changed by Christoph Behm.

Now, only a month into the brand new function, Behm has made sweeping adjustments on the enterprise, which is able to see Sony Music’s GSA labels sit inside three new “overarching frontline label teams”, together with the Ariola Label Group, the Columbia Label Group, and the RCA Label Group.

Moreover, Sony Music GSA will now be overseen by a newly structured GSA administration crew…

5) SPOTIFY RAISES PRICES IN CANADA AMID DEBATE OVER PROPOSED STREAMING TAX

Spotify has notified clients in Canada that will probably be growing its subscription costs out there.

The information arrives amid a debate out there over a proposed tax on non-Canadian streaming firms’ home revenues.

In June, Canada’s telecom regulator, the CRTC, introduced that beginning this fall, non-Canadian streaming providers can be required to pay a 5% tax on their Canadian revenues, which can be put into various completely different funds that help Canadian music creators and broadcasters…

MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and scale back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide