Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we be certain that 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 maximize their earnings and scale back their touring prices.
Additionally this week, Common Music Group launched a three way partnership with WTSL, the Silver Lake-backed funding agency based by Hollywood agent and WME co-founder Patrick Whitesell.
In the meantime, we realized that legendary UK impartial music firm Cooking Vinyl can be acquired by US-headquartered Exceleration Music.
Elsewhere, on Wednesday (June 11) The Nationwide Music Publishers’ Affiliation (NMPA) mentioned that Spotify‘s ‘bundling’ transfer may price music publishers $3.1 billion by means of 2032.
Lastly, Harbourview Fairness Companions secured $500 million in debt refinancing, led by funding big KKR.
Rob Stringer, the Chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Leisure, up to date traders on the music firm’s efficiency and technique on Friday morning (June 13).
Delivered as a part of Sony Group’s 2025 Enterprise Section Presentation for traders, Stringer lined Sony’s monetary efficiency, catalog offers, distribution technique, AI alternatives, music streaming subscription costs, and extra. He additionally took half in a fireplace chat with Justin Hill, Senior Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations, Sony Company of America.
Through the presentation, Stringer revealed Sony “accomplished greater than 60 investments prior to now yr alone” and spent “over $2.5 billion for frontline, catalog, in addition to inventive and repair ventures with outdoors entrepreneurs throughout an unlimited variety of territories.”
Stringer mentioned Sony’s technique in better element in the course of the presentation and Q&A. Listed here are seven extra issues you need to know…
Patrick Whitesell credit score: DFree / Shutterstock.com / Sir Lucian Grainge credit score Picture: Austin Hargrave
Common Music Group has shaped a three way partnership with WTSL, the Silver Lake-backed funding agency based by distinguished Hollywood agent and WME co-founder, Patrick Whitesell.
In response to the official announcement, the enterprise’s purpose is to “speed up business alternatives for UMG’s artists and artist estates in quickly rising areas outdoors conventional recorded music and music publishing”.
The press launch added that the JV will pursue alternatives that “lengthen music’s worth throughout movie, tv, style, shopper merchandise, branded experiences, and different rising progress areas.”
Exceleration Music has entered into an settlement to amass iconic UK-headquartered impartial music firm Cooking Vinyl, which it describes as “one of many UK’s most profitable and long-standing music firms”.
Based in 1986, Cooking Vinyl is dwelling to a roster of artists that features Shed Seven, Suzanne Vega, Passenger, The Prodigy, The Cranberries, Billy Bragg, The Darkness, Deacon Blue, 47 Soul, Roger Waters and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Exceleration mentioned on Monday (June 9) that Cooking Vinyl will proceed to function independently, led by Managing Director Rob Collins and his crew.
The Nationwide Music Publishers’ Affiliation initiatives that music publishers will “lose over $3.1 billion” by means of 2032 attributable to Spotify‘s audiobook “bundling practices”.
That’s in accordance with Government Vice President and Normal Counsel Danielle Aguirre, who, talking on the NMPA’s 2025 Annual Assembly in New York on Wednesday (June 11), detailed how Spotify‘s choice to reclassify its premium music service as a bundled providing in March 2024 has, “by Spotify’s personal numbers” resulted in a $230 million loss for publishers throughout its first yr of implementation.
Aguirre added that “these losses will proceed if we will’t reverse or right Spotify’s actions. In actual fact, if we don’t cease them, we’re projected to lose over $3.1 billion by means of the following CRB interval,” which can be Phonorecords V, which determines mechanical royalty charges for 2028 by means of 2032.
HarbourView Fairness Companions has secured $500 million in further debt financing from funding big KKR, secured by way of a non-public securitization backed by its music portfolio.
This newest transaction follows a earlier $500 million in debt financing secured by HarbourView in March 2024, by means of a non-public securitization backed by its catalog of music royalties, and led by KKR.
Citing an interview with HarbourView Founder and CEO Sherrese Clarke on Monday (June 9), Bloomberg reported that the corporate plans to make use of the brand new financing “to scale up, so as to add to its portfolio of music content material and to push deeper into movie and TV-rights administration”.
