{"id":231179,"date":"2025-05-09T16:33:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T15:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=231179"},"modified":"2025-05-09T16:33:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T15:33:24","slug":"from-create-buying-monstercat-to-wmg-earnings-its-mbws-weekly-round-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/from-create-buying-monstercat-to-wmg-earnings-its-mbws-weekly-round-up\/","title":{"rendered":"From Create buying Monstercat to WMG earnings… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Music Business Worldwide<\/a>\u2019s weekly round-up \u2013 where we make sure\u00a0you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW\u2019s round-up is supported by\u00a0<\/i>Centtrip<\/i><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0which helps over 500 of the world\u2019s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.<\/i><\/p>\n

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This week we learned that $1 billion<\/strong>-valued Create Music Group<\/strong> has acquired again, this time snapping up indie electronic music label Monstercat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Warner Music Group<\/strong> released its calendar Q1 earnings, showing revenue growth of 1.2% YoY<\/strong><\/span>, while subscription streaming revenue grew 3.2% YoY<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Universal Music Group<\/strong> filed a motion to dismiss Drake<\/strong>‘s amended defamation complaint against the company, calling Drake’s legal action an “attempt to save face” after losing a rap battle against Kendrick Lamar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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We also learned this week that Google<\/strong> has teamed up with Range Media Partners<\/strong> to launch a film and TV production company called 100 Zeros<\/strong>. Google moving into the entertainment IP space could have implications for the music industry.<\/p>\n

Finally, MBW<\/em> founder Tim Ingham<\/strong>‘s latest column casts an eye on the irony of AI music-making platform Udio<\/strong> teaming up with Audible Magic<\/strong> for “content identification<\/strong>,” and why UMG<\/strong> may be “confident” about its acquisition of Downtown Music<\/strong>, despite an EU investigation.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened this week…<\/p>\n

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Photo: Georgia Esporlas<\/figcaption><\/figure>1) CREATE MUSIC GROUP ACQUIRES AGAIN, SWOOPING FOR INDIE ELECTRONIC LABEL MONSTERCAT<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Create Music Group<\/strong> has acquired again.<\/p>\n

The company, which was valued at $1 billion<\/strong> following a $165-million<\/strong> investment round last year, has swooped for independent electronic music label Monstercat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, Create said it has committed to investing an additional $50 million<\/strong> over the next two years in artist development, advances, and platform support across Monstercat\u2019s roster, \u201cto accelerate both new signings and long-term career growth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Financial terms beyond the $50 million investment commitment weren\u2019t disclosed.<\/p>\n

Monstercat has staff based in Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles…<\/p>\n

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<\/figure>2) ROBERT KYNCL TALKS M&A STRATEGY, A&R SPEND, AI REGULATION, AND MORE ON WARNER MUSIC\u2019S LATEST EARNINGS CALL<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Warner Music Group<\/strong> published its calendar Q1 (fiscal Q2) results on Thursday (May 8), with CEO Robert Kyncl<\/strong> acknowledging industry-wide challenges on the company\u2019s earnings call.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize this is a moment of transition in the industry and for our company,\u201d Kyncl stated on the call, while maintaining his outlook for future growth.<\/p>\n

WMG reported<\/a> company-wide revenue growth of 1.2% YoY<\/strong><\/span> at constant currency for calendar Q1, with recorded music revenues increasing 0.7% YoY<\/strong><\/span>, and music publishing revenue growing 3% YoY<\/strong><\/span>. Subscription streaming grew 3.2% YoY<\/strong><\/span>, compared to double-digit growth in the same quarter last year.<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Kyncl identified specific factors behind these results: \u201cOur results in [calendar Q1] reflect a lighter release schedule, market share pressure in China and a tough year-over-year comparison in subscription streaming, where we saw strong double-digit growth in the prior year quarter…\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kathy Hutchins\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>3) UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP SLAMS \u2018WILD CONSPIRACIES\u2019 FROM DRAKE LAWYERS, MOVES TO DISMISS LAWSUIT<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Universal Music Group<\/strong> has filed a motion to dismiss Drake<\/strong>\u2019s amended defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar<\/strong>\u2019s hit track Not Like Us<\/em>, arguing that the lyrics are \u201cnonactionable opinion and rhetorical hyperbole\u201d rather than assertions of fact.<\/p>\n

Drake filed an amended complaint last month that added new allegations regarding Lamar\u2018s performance during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in February.<\/p>\n

In a legal memorandum filed on May 7, and obtained by MBW<\/em>, UMG asks the court to dismiss Drake\u2019s amended complaint with prejudice.<\/p>\n

The memorandum characterizes the lawsuit as \u201cDrake\u2019s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar\u201d and describes the \u201cnew allegations\u201d as \u201castonishing…\u201d<\/p>\n

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mundissima\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>4) GOOGLE HAS LAUNCHED A FILM AND TV PRODUCTION HOUSE WITH RANGE MEDIA PARTNERS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF MUSIC RIGHTSHOLDERS?<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

The integration of Big Tech<\/strong> and the entertainment industry<\/strong> has taken another step, this time with news that Google<\/strong> has launched a film and TV production company.<\/p>\n

Business Insider<\/em> reported this week that Google has quietly launched 100 Zeros<\/strong>, a film and TV production initiative that won\u2019t be producing content for YouTube (a la YouTube Originals), instead offering it for sale to traditional studios and streaming services like Netflix<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

(\u201c100 Zeros\u201d is a cryptic way of saying Google. A one with 100 zeros after it is a googol, the quantity for which Google was named).<\/p>\n

For those in the music industry, one detail about 100 Zeros stands out: It\u2019s part of a multi-year partnership with Range Media Partners<\/strong>, a management and production company known for its involvement in music…<\/p>\n

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RomanR\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>5) ON\u2026 UDIO, FUGA, UNIVERSAL, MERLIN, AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Tim Ingham<\/strong>‘s latest MBW+ Review column is now online for subscribers. It covers:<\/p>\n

1) The comedy of Udio<\/strong> partnering with Audible Magic<\/strong> for “content identification<\/strong>” while simultaneously being sued by majors for copyright infringement. As Udio churns out AI-generated songs with lyrics from Yesterday<\/em> and Wonderwall<\/em>, its so-called “commitment to content provenance” rather sticks in the throat.<\/p>\n

2) Why UMG<\/strong> might be remaining “confident” about closing the $775M Downtown acquisition<\/strong> despite an EC investigation.<\/p>\n

3) The FUGA<\/strong> factor: While indies protest UMG’s potential ownership of distribution powerhouse FUGA, where were they in 2020 when Downtown’s Justin Kalifowitz<\/strong> acquired it for a reported ~$40M<\/strong>? Considering Merlin<\/strong>‘s $1.48B<\/strong> in annual revenues, could the independent sector have secured this crucial infrastructure themselves…?<\/p>\n

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<\/figure>MBW\u2019s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world\u2019s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biggest stories from the past week \u2013 all in one place\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":111195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[134120,5103,132246,2167,1522,106,4688,130567,5080,269,418],"class_list":["post-231179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-news","tag-100-zeros","tag-create-music-group","tag-downtown-music","tag-drake","tag-fuga","tag-google","tag-monstercat","tag-range-media-partners","tag-robert-kyncl","tag-universal-music-group","tag-warner-music-group"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}