Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we make certain you caught the 5 largest 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 scale back their touring prices.
This week, Common Music Group-owned distribution platform Spinnup revealed that it’s altering from an “open DIY music distribution service”, to a “curated artist discovery and distribution platform”.
In different phrases, Spinnup will quickly be going invite-only, and will likely be lowering the variety of artists utilizing the platform.
Present customers had been informed of the change by way of e mail on Wednesday (Might 18), and a discover on the Spinnup web site confirms that “some artists” will now be leaving the platform. These artists are being requested to take down their releases and switch to a brand new distributor by July 19, 2022.
The transfer brings Spinnup’s enterprise mannequin nearer to that of AWAL, the platform acquired by Sony Music final yr.
Spinnup’s pivot from “open DIY music distribution service” to invite-only platform additionally comes three years after one other distributor, Los Angeles-based Stem, revealed that it could be turning off the flexibility for any DIY artist to distribute their music by way of its platform.
Elsewhere, Bandcamp, which was acquired by Epic Video games in March, introduced that it’s going to proceed to function utilizing its present cost system on Android units, after a Joint Stipulation was filed by Epic and Google in a Californian court docket on Friday (Might 20).
The information follows a movement filed by Epic towards Google in April requesting a preliminary injunction to dam Bandcamp’s elimination from the Google Play retailer.
Based on the movement filed by Epic in April, Google has threatened to take away any apps, together with Bandcamp, from its app retailer on June 1, 2022, in the event that they don’t undertake Google’s cost system for in-app purchases.
Google has agreed to not take away Bandcamp from its retailer, and Bandcamp has agreed to put 10% of the income generated from digital gross sales on Android units into an escrow account, till Epic’s ongoing case towards Google is resolved.
In the meantime, this week, Danmark Music Group acquired the operations of Secretly Noord, the Scandinavia-based digital distribution arm of unbiased distributor Secretly Distribution.
As a part of the deal, Secretly Distribution is changing into an fairness companion in DANMARK.
Additionally this week, UK music licensing firm PPL reported revenues of $347.7m for 2021, whereas Common consolidated the licensing rosters of its merchandise corporations Bravado and Epic Rights.
Right here’s what occurred this week…
1) UNIVERSAL DUMPS DIY DISTRIBUTION, AS SPINNUP GOES INVITE-ONLY
Amongst the multitude of tempting causes for Sony Music to accumulate AWAL final yr (*cough* instantaneous market share *cough*) was the ex-Kobalt platform’s unusual add mannequin for indie artists.
Relatively than permitting all artists in every single place to add their music to digital providers (a la DistroKid or TuneCore), AWAL as an alternative deploys a ‘first layer’ of A&R filtration. Because of this, round 9 in each ten tracks submitted to the AWAL platform are believed to be rejected.
Now, Common Music Group is making a major change to its personal indie artist distribution enterprise that brings it nearer to the AWAL mannequin – and slams the door shut on many DIY artists hoping to distribute their music by way of UMG….
Bandcamp’s had a rollercoaster couple of months.
In March, the net music retailer and direct-to-fan platform bought each the music and video video games companies speaking when it was acquired by $31.5 billion-valued Epic Video games, maker of hit online game Fortnite and Unreal Engine.
Final month, Bandcamp’s new mum or dad firm filed a movement towards Google requesting a preliminary injunction to dam the tech large from eradicating the Bandcamp app from its app retailer.
At this time (Friday Might 20), Epic and Google have filed a Joint Stipulation in a Californian court docket, with the latter firm agreeing to not kick Bandcamp off its app retailer…
3) A NEW INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTION POWERHOUSE EMERGES IN SCANDINAVIA, AS DANMARK BUYS SECRETLY NOORD
Danmark Music Group has acquired the operations of Secretly Noord, the Scandinavia-based digital distribution arm of unbiased distributor Secretly Distribution.
As a part of the deal, Secretly Distribution is changing into an fairness companion in DANMARK.
Secretly Noord’s crew – together with ex-Phonofile staff Daggan Stamenkovic, Torny Gottberg and Jarle Savio — will turn into DANMARK’s Nordic crew, with workplaces in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Oslo…
4) UK MUSIC LICENSING COMPANY PPL REPORTS REVENUES OF $347.7M FOR 2021, UP 12% YOY
UK music licensing firm PPL has reported revenues of £252.8 million ($347.7m) for 2021, up 12%, or £27.1 million ($37.27m) YoY.
The corporate’s outcomes for 2021 mark its second highest annual income whole, after gathering £271.8 million in 2019.
PPL stories that it noticed year-on-year progress throughout all three income streams in 2021, together with Worldwide, Broadcast and on-line, and Public efficiency and dubbing, with Worldwide and Broadcast, and on-line licensing revenues reaching document annual quantities…
5) UNIVERSAL CONSOLIDATES LICENSING ROSTERS OF MERCHANDISE COMPANIES BRAVADO AND EPIC RIGHTS
Bravado, Common Music Group’s merchandise and model administration firm, has introduced what it calls the “centralization” of each the Bravado and Epic Rights licensing rosters.
The brand new construction will see Epic Rights’ SVP International Licensing, Lisa Streff, oversee world licensing methods throughout each corporations.
Bravado and Epic’s centralized world roster contains the likes of AC/DC, Blackpink, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Weapons & Roses, Justin Bieber, KISS, Slipknot and The Weeknd, amongst others….
MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their earnings and scale back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide
