Music Week’s round-up of essential biz stories you might have missed…
UTA sells minority stake to private equity firms
UTA has sold minority stakes to private equity firms PSP Investments and Investcorp. The live agency said it will bring in capital to enable growth at a “time of change and innovation in content creation and distribution”. The two investors have reportedly taken a combined stake of around 40% for approximately $200 million (£155.4m). “This is a transformative event for UTA,” said CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “There has never been a greater moment of change and opportunity in our industry for artists, creators and companies like ours.”
Concord acquires Independiente Records
Concord Music has continued its run of acquisitions by taking control of UK indie Independiente Records, home to artists over the years including Travis, Paul Weller and Embrace. The label was launched in 1997 by Andy Macdonald, founder of Go! Discs. Macdonald said, “It was very important to me to hand over this collected body of work to a label who both understands and respects the work that has been put in from the artists and label staff and it was immediately apparent from our meetings with Scott and Steve that they tick both of those boxes and more. Concord Music has assembled a fantastic universe of brilliant music over the years and I am proud to see Independiente become an important part of that picture.”
Reading Festival weekend tickets sell out
Festival Republic has announced today (August 8) that Reading Festival weekend tickets have sold out. Headline performers Reading And Leeds Festival (August 24-26) include Kendrick Lamar, Kings Of Leon and Fall Out Boy. Day tickets for Reading on Saturday have also sold out.
Jax Jones for Apple Music’s Up Next
Jax Jones is the latest artist to be selected for Apple Music’s Up Next programme, which showcases rising talent. The Polydor recording artist is the first dance act to be selected. The streaming platform’s editorial team picks an artist to promote each month as part of Up Next. On August 10, Apple Music will premiere a Jax Jones short film that will include a special performance by Mabel, along with a Beats 1 interview with Julie Adenuga.
Musical.ly shuttered and relaunched as TikTok
Musical.ly, which had more than 100 million monthly active users, has been shut down. Chinese internet giant Bytedance, which acquired the video app last year for up to $1 billion (£777m), has migrated users to its existing TikTok app. Bytedance took the decision to merge the operations for Musical.ly and TikTok, which has 500m active monthly users.
AWAL to share Spotify proceeds this month
Kobalt’s record label AWAL will distribute proceeds from Merlin’s sale of Spotify shares to its clients this month. The pro-rata payments will be made within days for artists who collected royalties via AWAL between September 2012 (when AWAL joined Merlin) and March 2018 (just before the indie licensing agency decided to sell its holding). Music Week broke the news that Merlin had sold its shares in the streaming giant.
