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Germany-headquartered music company BMG and Universal Music Group (UMG) have formed a new alliance. The companies say that they will “explore a range of collaborative initiatives to further expand opportunities for BMG-signed artists around the world”. The first project under the new alliance will be moving the distribution of physical formats of BMG’s music – including vinyl and CD […]

Big news today from Universal Music’s global artists services division Virgin Music Group. On Thursday (October 18) Virgin Music Group announced a “global reorganization” of its business, with plans to integrate Ingrooves’ global platform and patented marketing technology with Virgin Music. By doing this, Virgin Music Group says that it will “offer independent artists and labels

Switzerland-headquartered tech company Utopia Music has appointed Alain Couttolenc as its new CEO. Utopia co-founder Mattias Hjelmstedt, who has been leading Utopia as its Executive Chairman since February 2023, will step down from his executive position and resume his former role as Chairman of the Board. In a statement issued on Thursday (October 19), Hjelmstedt

Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF)’s board is having a tricky time of things. That’s largely down to two factors connected to the UK-listed fund’s independent valuer: New York-headquartered Citrin Cooperman. Firstly, in Citrin Cooperman’s eyes, HSF’s assets (as of end of March this year) carried an operative NAV (Net Asset Value) of USD $2.240 billion. Right now, HSF’s market cap sits at about half the size

As of Thursday (October 19), TikTok’s premium music streaming service, TikTok Music, is available to the public in Australia, Singapore and Mexico. The launch follows an initial beta roll-out in the three markets in July, which arrived two weeks after TikTok officially launched the service in Brazil and Indonesia. In Brazil and Indonesia, the TikTok Music service is licensed by, and therefore includes the catalogs of, all

Concert promoter AEG Presents has promoted Rich Schaefer to the role of President, Global Touring. Schaefer will oversee all aspects of the concert promotion company’s worldwide touring deals, operations, and talent relations, and will report to Jay Marciano, Chairman and CEO of AEG Presents and COO of AEG. The exec will also be joining the company’s Executive

Artist development and management services company mtheory has appointed music and entertainment industry veteran Erik Pettie as Senior Vice President and Head of its new Artist Services and Partnerships division. With a career spanning over 15 years, Pettie will lead the establishment of mtheory’s Artist Services division, based in their New York office. The newly-formed division will

According to UMG, the partnership will be “centered on empowering the next generation of artists, including within BandLab’s global community”. The statement adds that “the alliance will advance the companies’ shared commitment to [the] ethical use of AI and the protection of artist and songwriter rights”. BandLab’s partnership with the world’s largest music rightsholder indicates

Next week, the shareholders of Hipgnosis Songs Fund are set to vote (a) Whether to keep the UK-listed company going in its current form (‘continuation vote’) and (b) Whether to accept a proposed $465 million sell-off of selected assets (with $440m-worth going to the Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital). Earlier today (October 18) it was the turn of shareholders of

Bertelsmann-owned BMG splashed USD $400 million on catalog acquisitions in 2022. As MBW reported back in March, Bertelsmann’s latest annual fiscal report revealed that BMG spent a record USD $535 million (EUR €509m) on the acquisition of music catalogs plus artist signings (i.e. advances) last year. Within that $535 million figure, confirmed Bertelsmann, BMG spent $400 million (€380m) on acquiring music catalogs globally in 2022 –