A breakdown of publicly announced catalog acquisitions between January-May 2023 and 2024. In the 2024 period, May encompasses the month’s first three weeks. Amid an uncertain economic climate and cooling industry funding, how are catalog acquisitions faring in 2024? We crunched the numbers to see where the space is positioned and where it could be heading during the rest of the year. This latest check-in on the song-rights arena is made possible by our Music IP Acquisition Tracker, a comprehensive, sea... Read More...

Photo Credit: Spotify Make no mistake, music publishers aren't thrilled about Spotify's big shift towards bundled offerings. NMPA head David Israelite has condemned in no uncertain terms Spotify’s “perversion of the settlement” behind Phonorecords IV, making clear as well that “all options” are on the table when it comes to pushing back against the “potentially unlawful” change. And the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) has likewise decried the “deeply cynical move.” Others are far ... Read More...

Live Nation Ticketing Revenue and Operating Income/Loss, 2019-2023 (Source: Live Nation financials) About one week after reporting positive Q1 2024 financials, Live Nation has kicked off its “Concert Week” promotion, offering fans $25 tickets to shows from acts including Avril Lavigne, Dierks Bentley, and Pitbull. For a company that’s faced ample pricing criticism from both customers and lawmakers, what exactly does the promotion mean? To date, that question has received relatively little attention in ... Read More...

The Young Americans are listening: Edison's 'Share-of-Ear' data for Q2 2023–Q1 2024 The data is both encouraging or depressing — and the landscape is more complicated than ever. But where does radio stand in 2024, given a quick-evolving streaming landscape and an increasingly digital music space? Six experts tackled the complex question and discussed the medium’s path forward during our latest DMN Pro event. Here are some of the takeaways. If radio is dead, listeners haven't quite noticed. Nielsen, in ... Read More...

Selected music festival prices for 2024. Figures reflect general admission pricing, excluding taxes and fees except for Austin City Limits (which bakes fees and shipping into the base price) for 2024 where applicable. Prices released in foreign currencies were converted to USD. Following a post-COVID rebound for live entertainment, are music festivals hitting their peak? That’s the question many are asking now that sellouts are eluding high-profile events including Coachella. For most concerts and fest... Read More...

X (formerly Twitter) is grappling with a copyright infringement lawsuit from 17 NMPA-corralled music publishers demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. But given a number of setbacks in the case for publishers, will the Elon Musk-owned platform ever pay for the use of music?

Wall Street’s positive response to reports of additional Spotify price increases pushed shares to a 52-week high. But what would larger monthly costs mean for the platform, labels, artists, and the wider industry?

Images: Mohamed Hassan, Walkerwandern, Spotify Streaming music has been booming for years. But amidst all the rapid growth, how is the accuracy of reporting and payments faring? In our latest DMN Pro Weekly report, we take an in-depth look at the data to rank today’s leading platforms on payouts and overall reporting accuracy. The results may surprise you. Report Table of Contents Introduction: Streaming’s Growth and the Corresponding Importance of Accurate Payments Graph: DSPs by 2022 Payments A... Read More...

All over the map: selected artists’ social media followers, YouTube subscribers, and Spotify monthly listeners. TikTok is facing its greatest regulatory threat to date in the U.S., where lawmakers are rallying behind forced-sale legislation. TikTok says this would effectively amount to a ban in the app’s biggest market, with ripple effects impacting dozens of industries. But what exactly would a ban look like for the music industry? TikTok’s possible U.S. shutdown would bring music-specific consequence... Read More...

Hybe revenue and net profit, 2018-2023 (source: Hybe financial disclosures) Hybe kicked off March by acquiring nearly $80 million worth of SM Entertainment stock, underscoring its continued expansion ambitions following the November purchase of Exile Music. With others also diversifying amid a potential K-pop slowdown, will a global approach ensure the genre’s continued influence in the long term? What if the success of Hybe and K-pop itself isn’t dependent on BTS – or any one act, for that matter? The... Read More...

Just how little is TikTok paying UMG? A comparison between Universal Music's estimated annual revenue from TikTok versus permanent downloads (Source: UMG statements and financials). More than one month into the TikTok and Universal Music Group standoff, all signs point to an intensifying dispute between the companies. Here's an analysis of where the high-stakes impasse stands – and how the episode's fallout could drive a fundamental shift in the way music factors into the UGC space. It can be safely st... Read More...

All the Way Up: Total Music IP acquisition deals during 2021-2023. Early 2024 has been surging. Source: Digital Music News DMN Pro data. 2024’s first two months saw billions pour into music IP, with one of the largest single-catalog deals to date occurring. Amid continued streaming growth and strong listenership for the hits of yesterday, does the early momentum mark the start of a serious rebound and record-setting surge? Just how big has 2024 been for music-focused IP acquisitions? This big: north of... Read More...