Music Business Worldwide (MBW)

On the latest Music Business Worldwide podcast, MBW founder Tim Ingham is joined by Milana Lewis, the founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Stem Disintermedia Inc., a distribution and services company, including financial services for independent artists. Stem has had a big year, with a major highlight coming last summer when it announced it had secured a $250 million credit agreement with Victory Park Capital Advisors, which has transformed the size and scope of artist advances that Stem can offer. For a company that has grown used to seeing some of its biggest independent artists jump to major label deals, that $250 million raise is something of a game changer for Stem and Milana. Long-term listeners to MBW's podcasts may remember that this isn't Milana’s first time speaking to us. She last appeared on this podcast four years ago, just at the tip of the pandemic, and she volunteered a number of predictions about the music businesses in the years ahead, many of which have already come true, or at least partly come true. On this podcast, Milana and Tim discuss – with some agreement, but not always – several crucial topics in the music business right now, from TikTok versus Universal Music Group to artist-centric streaming royalties to artificial intelligence, and of course Stem, and why Milana truly believes she is building a music company fit for the future. Read an abridged/edited version of the Q&A, or listen to the podcast here... Thanks to Voly Entertainment for the support. #podcasts #musicbusiness #musicindustry #AI

Warner Chappell Music strikes exclusive deal with BandLab Technologies that includes a JV to identify and sign songwriters on ReverbNation #reverbnation #musicpublishing #warnerchappell #msuicbusiness

US independent vinyl retailers call for end to artist/label D2C pre-sell exclusivity windows Stephen Godfroy, Director and Co-Owner of music retailer Rough Trade in the US, said: “The voice of US indie retail deserves to be heard and respected. “Thankfully, this discriminatory D2C practice has yet to become routine across the board, but nevertheless, we’re addressing labels that represent some of the most popular artists in the new release recorded music market.” He added: “Even a D2C pre-sell exclusivity window of a few hours from LP announcement can significantly decrease the LP demand at retail, let alone several weeks, as has been the case with some recent high-profile LP releases. Receiving A2IM’s support on this issue is a welcome sign of the music ecosystem uniting with shared values. We hope the rest of the US label community pledges to follow suit." President and CEO of A2IM, Dr. Richard James Burgess, said: “A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) supports this call for a more equitable pre-sale system." He added: "Independent record stores are the backbone of our music communities and stifling their access to new releases hurts fans and artists alike. Let's celebrate music together, not create barriers to its enjoyment." #vinyl #vinylrecords #musicretailers #musicbusiness

A new ‘music-only’ subscription tier is coming to Spotify, confirms Daniel Ek… and 4 other things we learned on the company’s latest earnings call #spotify #musicstreaming #musicbusiness

After Concord bids $1.511bn for Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Blackstone tells HSF shareholders: Don't move a muscle, we'll be right back #Hipgnosis #musicbusiness #HipgnosisSongsFund

Daniel Ek just got $118.8 million richer, via the sale of Spotify shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The move comes less than a week after Spotify caused controversy by announcing it was changing the way it paid mechanical royalties to songwriters in the US, via a reduced rate. Yesterday (April 23), Spotify announced the biggest quarterly operating profit in its history. #musicindustry

Concord isn’t giving up on Hipgnosis Songs Fund, as it bids $1.51 billion – less than 1% higher than Blackstone’s proposed offer #Hipgnosis #musicbusiness

TikTok CEO says ‘we aren’t going anywhere’ after President Biden signs divest-or-ban bill into law #TikTok

Warner Music Group sells Uproxx, HipHopDX and other media assets to Uproxx Studios Founder and CEO Jarret Myer #musicbusiness #warnermusicgroup

Congrats to Samantha Sklar who has been promoted to Vice President of A&R at Position Music #musicbusiness #execpromotions #musicindustry