Chris Cocks

“Warner Music Group (WMG) CEO Robert Kyncl has come out in favor of a US Senate bill that would crack down on unauthorized deepfakes, arguing that the technology could ruin lives, reputations and businesses if left unchecked. Although many in the music business are embracing AI, it’s also the case that “generative AI is appropriating artists’ identities and producing deepfakes that depict people doing, saying, or singing things that never happened,” Kyncl will tell a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Commitee on Tuesday (April 30). “Through AI, it is very easy for someone to impersonate me and cause all manner of havoc,” Kyncl said, according to his pre-prepared remarks shared with MBW. “They could speak to an artist in a way that could destroy our relationship. They could say untrue things about our publicly traded company to the media that would damage our business.” #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Legal #GenerativeAi #GeAi #Music #MusicBusiness #Musicians #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicLicensing #WMG #MusicVideos #Artists #MusicBiz #Streaming #StreamingServices #StreamingMedia #WarnerMusicGroup #USCongress #USA

4

📺 Apple will introduce a new version of its streaming television operating system, tvOS 18, later this year, featuring character-driven data and a dialogue enhancer. 🎬 The new feature, InSight, allows streamers to see timely updates about actors, characters, and music offered through Apple TV Plus content, integrating directly with other Apple services like Apple Music. 🗣️ Enhanced Dialogue will utilize machine learning and computational audio to deliver greater vocal clarity over music, action, and background noise on various devices including Apple TV 4K, HomePod, iPhones, and iPads. 🌍 Other features in tvOS 18 include smarter subtitles, updated screen savers, a revamped Apple Fitness Plus app, better integration with smart home devices, support for 21:9 aspect ratio videos on projectors, and improvements to FaceTime and Continuity Camera for video conferencing. #svod #ai #apple #tv https://lnkd.in/eAgubRGC

10

Music Business Association Music Biz 2024 coming up in May. Find out more about Reactional Music and what we are delivering across interactive music, music personalisation, in-game economies, generative composable music and the possibilities for creators, composers, artists and developers

14

2 Comments

“…music copyright valuation continues to grow at an accelerated pace. The global valuation ascribed to music copyright reached $41.5bn, according to industry economist Will Page. This is 14.5% more than 2022. More folks are streaming music than ever before. Vinyl sales are up. Concert ticket sales surpassed 2019’s figures, according to Live Nation. And beneath all of this are the songs, or copyrighted works. Without them, there would be no tours, no vinyl records and no streaming services. Funds that invest in this intellectual property are expected to continue to see a return. But across the industry, this is not the case.” “There are reasons for this - based both on data and perception. Qualitatively, the way the music industry - as a monolith - is perceived continues to be challenged. For example, in BBC’s daily news podcast, Global Story, a report on Taylor Swift referred to the music industry as ‘in crisis’ despite the macroeconomic data arguing otherwise. This is supported by the evidence of burgeoning inequality. While arenas and stadiums celebrate a bumper year, small music venues in the UK suffered their “worst year in a decade” according to the Music Venue Trust. Music education hubs - often the places where music is first created - are being cut by two-thirds in 2024-2025. However, quantitatively, the data reveals a different story. Music listenership is up, according to the IFPI. Revenue collections from CISAC, the international trade body representing collective management organizations was up 28% in 2022. Simply, more music would mean more return, especially for firms that own much of the music that is consumed, such as funds like Hipgnosis, Round Hill or Primary Wave or the three multinationals, Universal Music Group, Warner Music and Sony Music. However, debt is now more expensive, and liabilities are outstripping return. Listening to more music is not enough.” #CMOs #CISAC #IFPI #Artists #UK #RecordingRights #Performers #Royalties #MusicRoyalties #Music #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #Copyright #Copyrights #Songs #Songwriters #Recordings #MusicPublishing #Streams #Streaming #MusicStreaming #LiveMusic #Global #RecordedMusic #RecordLabels #IndieMusic

1

1 Comment

Deepna Devkar, Ph.D. what a treat having you on the podcast! If you’ve ever wondered what goes into building your personalised experience on Max, this is the episode for you. Tune in to hear from one of the minds leading the build of the platform experience!

52

1 Comment

O P T I M I S T I C ! ! ”Los Angeles Film and TV Production Sees Sluggish Rebound From Strikes, but There’s Optimism” according to a report from FilmLA which notes an anemic return to filming in the region but that jobs appeared to return in full force in March. Filming in Los Angeles has been slow to bounce back after production in the region was decimated by Hollywood’s historic season of strikes.  The main reason for the sluggish rebound: A double-digit drop in television shoots compared to the same period last year.  Also playing a factor in the decline were reductions in content spend across most major studios, series cancellations and runaway production.  While the difference was steep in January (30.6 percent fewer jobs, totaling 2,282), it was modest in February (5.1 percent fewer jobs, totaling 3,061) and nearly unnoticeable by the end of March (a 0.4 percent increase, totaling 3,274 jobs).  There’s optimism in production levels for feature films. The category rose slightly in the quarter, picking up 634 shoot days to finish an estimated 7 percent ahead of the same months last year. Movies in production included Beverly Hills Cop 4, Atlas, and Lurker, all of which are getting tax credits to film in California.  FilmLA also flagged the loss of commercial production — which slipped nearly 10 percent year-over-year and more than 33 percent below the five-year average — to other jurisdictions as a concern. Filming for smaller, lower-cost shoots, such as documentaries, music videos and still photography, similarly fell by roughly 5 percent. Entertainment Partners https://lnkd.in/g5veEE6R https://lnkd.in/gjhbnQdG

45

2 Comments

The theatrical business is still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels, with consumer discretionary spending on the decline and rising ticket prices. The CEO of Sony might be onto something with his suggestion to decrease ticket prices. Lowering prices could make movie-going more accessible, increase foot traffic, and provide a competitive edge over streaming services. It's a strategy worth considering to revitalize the industry.

7

2 Comments

“Sony Music Entertainment is set to acquire the catalog of legendary rock band Queen in a landmark deal worth GBP £1 billion (USD $1.27 billion at current exchange rates). That’s according to Hits, which reported on Wednesday (June 19), citing sources, that Sony Music has emerged as the winning buyer for Queen’s recording and publishing rights, as well as royalties from previous deals with Disney Music Group and Universal Music Group. Disney owns the band’s recorded music catalog in North America, while UMG has a global distribution agreement with Disney. Separately, Queen band members Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon – plus the Freddie Mercury estate – each own equal shares in the company Queen Productions Ltd, which owns the group’s recording catalog outside the US and Canada, Music Business Worldwide noted in a report last year. UMG, as Disney’s distributor, will reportedly retain distribution rights in North America, although Sony will receive the royalties. UMG’s worldwide distribution rights will then transfer to Sony in 2026 or 2027, making Sony Music the sole distributor and owner of all Queen content globally, Hits explained. The deal also reportedly includes name and likeness rights, opening doors for merchandise and other ventures. Meanwhile, Queen’s founding members, May and Taylor, who continue to tour with vocalist Adam Lambert, will reportedly retain control of revenue from live performances.” Read the full article for more: #Queen #SonyMusic #UMG #DisneyMusicGroup #UniversalMusicGroup #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz #Creators #Artists

1

Our Research & Insights team has delivered another great piece of work, entitled Fan DNA. This new way of looking at audiences supplements traditional segmentation and we hope helps support marketers on how to tailor live music investments so they deliver even more back.    Fan DNA helped us discover more about our fans in the following two areas:    1) Uncovering six new core fan types that make up UK audiences of all ages at live music events 2) Identifying the emotional drivers of fans and matching them to the underlying human needs they correspond to at live music events   And that’s just the beginning of this great piece of new research. If you’d like to learn more about Fan DNA, give this piece a read and feel free to get in touch with the team with any questions. Thank you to Marketing Week for working with us on a piece of content that helps shed light on our findings for your readers. https://lnkd.in/e_KUHAZD

21

Paramount - WTAF is going on? "I have tremendous confidence in George, Chris and Brian... I am extremely excited for what their combined leadership means for Paramount Global and for the opportunities that lie ahead..." writes Shari Redstone to all Paramount Employees. Yet she knows, and they know, and she knows that they know, that she sees no future for their combined leadership. You're looking at three of the greatest leaders in the business being played as the Three Stooges. Despite tanking the Paramount share price from $55 to $12 a share, Bob Bakish did a tremendous job following Redstone's bidding to go headlong into the world of streaming with Paramount+. It's a great brand, brilliantly executed with world class content, and sits well alongside flanker FAST brand Pluto TV. It's all a bit 2021, when the Wall Street Ponzi Scheme opportunists were pushing all the Studios to do, to hell with sustainable profit models and theatrical, when there's easy money to be made through blowing their own bubbles. Turned out the only people to boost the Paramount Global share price were the Reddit activists, who propelled the share price to almost $100, making holding (and divesting) Paramount shares quite interesting for a few weeks. Since then it's been downhill all the way, but Redstone is still holding out like Captain Ahab with the promises of a pot of gold at the end of the streaming rainbow. It's hard to the value in the Skydance deal for anyone but Redstone's pride and her own shareholding, given she'll get a huge premium on her shareholding which will be mostly denied to the commoners holding non-voting stock. David Ellison is an insanely smart guy, so there's clear value for Skydance here, although given Skydance are a major supplier to Paramount it'd be challenging to make savings there. Maybe there's a plan to feed the whole Paramount library into an Oracle AI and make trillions, or maybe it's simply a ruse to try and heat up a bidding war? Sony and Apollo offering $26bn make the most sense, given the clear duplications and synergies to be made, with Paramount being a great production label with world class IP. Removing the Office of the CEO alone would save tens of millions right away, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I can't see why Sony would want to go near streaming, but they'd be well placed to offload P+ onto the highest bidder, and those 71m customers would add scale to WB's Max or Comcast's Peacock or maybe even Apple+. Worth a couple of billion dollars to someone else, rather than being a share price drag as it currently stands. Or maybe Comcast would come all-in, and outbid Sony to get their hands on the bigger prize? I can't speak for the TV business, but given the standout performer on the last earning call was CBS' Superbowl, it goes to show there's huge potential for TV - maybe without, rather than with, the trappings of the broader group? Or is it simply a case of "The Centre cannot hold, things fall apart..."

23

10 Comments

“The UK recorded music industry grew for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, bringing in £1.43 billion. Streaming and physical music saw growth, and the independent sector also enjoyed an increased share of album sales and streams. This is all according to a new stats pack from BPI The BPI has published its annual ‘All About The Music’ report on the British record industry's performance in the previous calendar year. The topline stat is that revenues grew by 8.1% in 2023 to £1.43 billion. That’s the ninth consecutive year of growth. According to the record industry trade group’s stats pack, more than half of that (58%) came from subscription streaming, sync and public performance combined contributed 13.6%, vinyl sales 9.9%, ad-funded audio and video streams 9.5%, and CDs 6.8%. Physical media actually saw stronger percentage growth than streaming last year, with CDs, vinyl and other formats all up individually, and collectively up 12.8% on 2022 - vinyl seeing the biggest jump, up 18.6% year-on-year. Streaming overall saw revenues rise by 8.4%, with ad-funded streaming growing fastest at 12.4%. In terms of actual revenues, physical brought in £243.4 million, while streaming generated £962.1 million. In terms of what people were listening to, Miley Cyrus came out top with her song ‘Flowers’, which enjoyed ten consecutive weeks at number one in the UK singles chart. This run helped female artists to score a record tally of weeks at the top of the UK top 40 - 31 out of 52 weeks. Women appear in seven slots in the top ten for the full year, including Raye, Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding and SZA.” #BPI #UK #Streaming #Artists #StreamingRoyalties #Royalties #RecordedMusic #StreamingServices #StreamingMedia #MusicStreams #MusicRoyalties #Songs #Recordings #MusicBusiness #Music #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

4

“Apple Music is rolling out a new ‘premium’ data analytics toolkit for its record label and distributor partners. The new ‘Apple Music Partner Program’ features various tools for Apple Music’s partners to track trends on its streaming service as well as global radio plays using Shazam technology. According to the landing page for the platform, it offers “access [to] more tools to break the next talent, spot emerging trends, and uncover new insights about your content”. “Apple Music already runs another analytics platform in Apple Music For Artists, which was made available for every artist on Apple Music in August 2019. Apple Music For Artists allows artists to monitor the volume of their streaming plays on Apple Music, all within a data set that updates daily. Spotify launched its own Spotify For Artists app in 2017 (an evolution of the ‘Fan Insights’ tool it introduced two years earlier) to provide artists and their teams with information pertaining to their popularity on the service. Like Spotify for Artists, the Apple Music For Artists service is available as both a desktop interface and a standalone mobile app.” #Apple #AppleMusic #Artists #RecordLabels #Spotify #Fans #Fandom #Streaming #StreamingRoyalties #Royalties #RecordedMusic #StreamingServices #StreamingMedia #MusicTracks #MusicStreams #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

5

1 Comment

There is such a thing as win-win in business. Success does not have to be a zero-sum game. This is something I hold very dear. Also: Transformers x Hot Wheels is just really damn cool.

44

5 Comments

Have you been interested in the podcast ad read genre? Learn about its nuances, and see how it differs from traditional reads at our next webinar, "The Pandora Sound", with Steve Pogatch and David Cuetter! Click the link here https://lnkd.in/dTx-B-T9 to sign up!

4

Horrible news today about layoffs at Traega Entertainment, with 19 employees being laid off. Game Director Tony Mann shared their details here, if you are in the market for some amazing talent: https://lnkd.in/eJDgas_5 To those affected, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 8 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,800 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eYdxANFM 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #traega

29

1 Comment

“The major labels have made a number of commitments around AI to artist and musician members of US performer union SAG-AFTRA via a new code of fair practice. They are, says artist manager, Irving Azoff, “a great first step to make sure artists have creative control and get paid” “US performer union SAG-AFTRA has announced a new deal with the major record companies that includes some protections for artists and musicians around the use of artificial intelligence, in particular “digital replications” of an artist’s voice. A statement from the union explains, “In this agreement, clear and conspicuous consent, along with minimum compensation requirements and specific details of intended use, are required prior to the release of a sound recording that uses a digital replication of an artist’s voice”. #SAGAFTRA #Artists #RecordLabels #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Legal #GenerativeAi #GeAi #Music #MusicBusiness #Musicians #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicLicensing #WMG #MusicVideos ##SonyMusic #VoiceClones #WarnerMusicGroup #UMG #SonyMusicEntertainment #UniversalMusicGroup #DisneyMusicGroup #Disney #Warner #Sony #Universal

2

1 Comment

I'm a bit late to the discussion on IGN Entertainment's acquisition of the Gamer Network. Seeing IGN Entertainment acquire the Gamer Network hits close to home for me. I grew up getting my gaming news and guides from mid-level publishers like Eurogamer and VG247. This consolidation trend is troubling, especially considering the layoffs and reduced editorial diversity that often follow. With my experience at ReedPOP, a subsidiary of Reed Exhibitions, I have insider knowledge of the dynamics at play. Reed should have invested more in these publishers because they didn't fit into the broader B2B portfolio strategy. This oversight has contributed to the consolidation we're witnessing now, where a few major entities control most of the gaming news landscape, pushing out smaller, independent voices. #GamingNews #IndustryTrends #Consolidation https://lnkd.in/eEDx-bfJ

15

I will never NOT root for Atari. I can't claim to always understand the vision or plan...but the brand love & loyalty earned 45 years ago remains. While we're here...quick facts about Atari: 🤓 "Atari," is a very cool word...it has a variety of meanings. It can mean "to hit a target," or "winner," but getting a bit more nuanced, can also refer to when someone makes a prediction that comes true. So next time you feel the desire to say "nailed it," try out "Atari!" 🗻 It's widely known that the famous Atari logo is actually based on Mount Fuji...but, being good designers, George Opperman and Evelyn Seto also visualized the image to look like an "A." Being GREAT designers, they also crafted it to include the now famous three lines...which represent the two players and mid-court of their first hit game, Pong. 🍎 One of my early favorite games was 1976's Breakout (which I did not actually play until 1978's Atari 2600 version). As it turns out, the concept came from Nolan Bushnell himself (as an exploration of Pong variants), but was designed by Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak. If you've ever worked your Breakout skills to the point where you can bust one narrow canal to the top, above the bricks, and get to sit back and enjoy a minute or so of glory...you understand what "work smarter, not harder" truly means. 💰 That big box that was sitting under our Christmas tree in 1977...set my parents back big. $189.95. That's roughly equivalent to $1000 in 2024. In the box: the console, two joysticks, two paddles (why do I remember four though?), and one game...Combat. It was a long time till we got a second game...so I got really good at Combat. It's a simple game...even playing field, no power-ups...just kill or be killed. 💾 Atari did NOT, in fact, invent the game cartridge (and yes, I know that's a floppy...working with what I've got here, people). That would be Jerry Lawson...and it was first used on Fairchild - now part of ON Semiconductor's "Channel F," which beat the 2600 by a year. Lawson died in 2011...but finally got some public due in 2022, when Google celebrated his contributions with a Doodle (sounds minor, but this exposed a LOT of people to Lawson's work). 🐡 ...and I don't care what you, Atari, Google...or science says...blowing on a cartridge made it work. I'm ready to die on that hill. ...all that aside... Good luck to Wade Rosen, Geoffroy Châteauvieux, and to the back-from-the-vault Infogrames. Forever and always, we're rooting for you. https://lnkd.in/gVAjQGhA

177

47 Comments

“Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl says metadata issues make the industry more susceptible to AI in his NMPA meeting keynote: “It takes the teeth out of things.” Metadata problems have been a continual thorn in the side of music rights holders for the last two decades. When performing rights organizations (PROs) can’t accurately match a track’s metadata to its use, artists and their contributors miss out on hard-earned revenue. Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl wants to bring those issues to light for the industry to solve, and he’s got some suggestions for going about it. At the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA)’s Annual Meeting in New York on Wednesday (June 12), Kyncl was interviewed by NMPA President and CEO David Israelite, during which the Warner exec was asked for his views on positive reform in collection societies. “One of the things that troubles me personally is that we’re basically collecting digital revenue the way we’ve collected analog revenue for decades. The speed of it; everything is the same,” said Kyncl. “That’s something we all collectively can do better and I think that will help songwriters tremendously.” “There’s a wealth of repertoire ownership information that sits with the collection societies, PROs, the [Mechanical Licensing Collective] and not everything matches perfectly,” he explained, calling for the industry to enable collection societies worldwide to collaborate in order to solve the continued issue of unmatched data. Kyncl stressed that reducing the amount of mismatched data is “incredibly important, not only for a faster flow of money today,” but for the music industry down the road as AI technology continues to grow. “If we set the rules of the road correctly with the platforms, it will have to depend on ownership information,” he added. “It’s one of the things that we really need to focus on.” Read the full article for more: #Metadata #PROs #CMOs #MLC #WarnerMusicGroup #WMG #NMPA #MusicRights #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

3

2 Comments