From Concord buying band members Phil Collins + Genesis catalogs to Pophouse’s Avicii rights deal… it’s MBW’s weekly roundup
Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly roundup – where we make sure you’ve caught the five biggest stories that have made headlines over the past seven days. The MBW Roundup is supported by Centtripwhich helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and lower their touring costs.
It’s been an eventful week in the global rights acquisition space.
On Thursday (September 29), we learned that Concord had acquired the publishing and recorded music catalogs of Phil Collins and his Genesis bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford.
Citing sources, The the wall street journal reported that the “megadeal” was valued at more than $300 million.
The deal follows Concord’s recent purchase of the assets of HitCo Entertainment and its eight-figure acquisition of Australian music publisher Native Tongue.
Elsewhere, Stockholm-based Pophouse Entertainment has announced a deal with Avicii’s (Tim Bergling) family and estate to buy 75% ownership of the late superstar’s master recordings and edition.
The Bergling family will continue to be closely involved in Avicii’s music as a minority owner of a 25% stake, in addition to forming a JV with Pophouse.
This week also brought news of a new Singapore-based fund that was launched to buy catalogs in Asia with an initial raise of $100 million.
Managed by Prime Asia Asset Management and based in Singapore, the fund is led by highly respected music industry veteran Chee Meng Tan (founder and CEO of the group).
The new company’s management team also includes Garand Wu (Chairman, Greater China), the former general manager of Universal Music (China).
Also this week, Apple pulled Russian VK apps from its App Store, while BMG booked one of Berlin’s most renowned theaters nightly until the end of 2024.
Here is what happened…
1) PHIL COLLINS, MIKE RUTHERFORD AND TONY BANKS OF GENESIS SELL RIGHTS TO CONCORD IN $300M DEAL
Concord again acquired.
This time, the company picked up the publishing and recorded music catalogs of Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, as well as the publishing and recorded music catalog from their years in the band Genesis.
Citing “people familiar with the transaction”, the Wall Street Journal reports that the “megadeal” is “valued at more than $300 million…”
2) POPHOUSE ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES 75% OF AVICII’S MASTER RECORDINGS AND EDITION
Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish entertainment company headed by former Universal Music Sweden CEO Per Sundin, has acquired a 75% stake in Avicii’s masters and publishing catalog.
The deal follows the launch of the Avicii Experience interactive tribute museum in Stockholm in February, born of a partnership between the family and estate of Avicii (Tim Bergling) and Pophouse CEO Sundin, who first signed Avicii as CEO of Universal Sweden in 2010.
Pophouse disclosed the latest deal in a joint statement with the Tim Bergling Foundation on Wednesday, September 28, without revealing the financial terms of the transaction…
3) LAUNCH OF A NEW $100M FUND TO BUY CATALOGS IN ASIA, LEAD BY INDUSTRY VETERAN CHEE MENG TAN AND EX-UNIVERSAL MUSIC CHINA MD GARAND WU
To date, the major players in the global music rights acquisition space are primarily based in the United States and Europe.
But in Asia, new funds with large capitals have started to make noise in recent months.
In June, for example, Seoul-based Beyond Music, which claims to be Asia’s largest music IP asset management company, outlined plans “to tap into the global music IP market”. The company said it expects to have 1 trillion South Korean won ($800 million) in assets under management by the end of this year.
Now MBW can reveal that a new Asia-focused fund has just entered the space and is launching with an initial raise of US$100 million…
4) APPLE TAKES APPS OWNED BY RUSSIAN TECHNOLOGY GIANT VK FROM THE APP STORE, INCLUDING THE VK MUSIC MUSIC SERVICE
Apps operated by Russian tech giant VK have been removed from Apple’s App Store globally, including VKontakte, Russia’s answer to Facebook.
In addition to VKontakte, The Verge reports that VK-owned music app VK Music has also been taken down by Apple, along with VK apps Mail.ru and Youla classifieds.
Quoting an Apple spokesperson, The Verge reports that the apps were taken down in response to new UK sanctions against Russian companies…
5) BMG HAS JUST BOOKED ONE OF GERMANY’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS THEATERS EVERY NIGHT UNTIL THE END OF 2024
It’s interesting: BMG has just taken another big step towards becoming a serious player in live entertainment in Germany.
On Thursday (September 29), the Bertelsmann-owned company announced that it had booked one of Berlin’s most renowned theaters, the 1,600-seat Theater des Westens (TdW), every night until the end of 2024.
BMG says it did this to “provide a home for its growing live events business”.
In particular, the music company says it will use the theater to host both its “growing list of musicals” and Vegas/Broadway-style artist residencies (a la Springsteen on Broadway)…
MBW’s Weekly Roundup is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize revenue and lower touring costs.
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