From Utopia Music downsizing its workforce to Warner’s $1.5bn in calendar Q3… it’s MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up

Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we make sure that you caught the 5 greatest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their earnings and scale back their touring prices.

This week, Utopia Music grew to become the newest firm to considerably reduce the scale of its international workforce.

The acquisitive Switzerland-headquartered firm confirmed to MBW that it has made numerous layoffs.

A Utopia spokesperson informed us that, “Like many progress firms in at present’s macroeconomic setting, Utopia is making adjustments to its inner construction to optimize the enterprise”.

Information of job losses at Utopia follows a wave of layoffs sweeping throughout the tech-leaning facet of the worldwide music enterprise.

Additionally this week, Warner Music Group reported its monetary outcomes for calendar Q3 2022 (the three months to finish of September).

The corporate informed traders that it generated whole revenues of USD $1.497 billion throughout recorded music, music publishing and different actions, up 16% YoY at fixed foreign money.

This quarterly earnings announcement was the final in Steve Cooper‘s 11-year tenure as Chief Government of WMG; Cooper will probably be succeeded within the position within the New Yr by YouTube‘s Chief Enterprise Officer, Robert Kyncyl.

Elsewhere, Common Music Group-owned Deutsche Grammophon, which claims to be the world’s oldest file label, unveiled its personal high-res classical music streaming service.

Plus, artist financing platform beatBread closed a $100 million institutional fund, whereas a Senate committee plans to carry a listening to to look at the US ticketing business.

Right here’s what occurred this week…

1) UTOPIA MUSIC MAKES LAYOFFS AS IT DOWNSIZES GLOBAL WORKFORCE

Utopia Music has develop into the newest firm to considerably reduce the scale of its international workforce.

The acquisitive Switzerland-headquartered firm has confirmed to MBW that it has made numerous layoffs.

Sources recommend these cuts have primarily are available in Utopia’s central staff – together with some high-level executives – in addition to its tech-focused workforce.

Thus far, Utopia’s tech staff have been tasked with constructing the agency’s proprietary music monitoring platform, generally referenced because the ‘Utopia Open Platform’ (UOP).

MBW understands that Utopia’s international staff numbers 1,200 individuals. That determine contains each contractors and round 800 staff…

2) WARNER MUSIC GROUP GENERATED $92M FROM ‘EMERGING PLATFORMS’ IN CALENDAR Q3 – AND OTHER TAKEAWAYS FROM STEVE COOPER’S LAST EARNINGS CALL WITH WMG

Warner Music Group‘s earnings name on Tuesday (November 22) ended on an upbeat notice – and it’s simple to see why.

WMG posted revenues of $1.5 billion for the three months to finish of September (up 16% YoY at fixed foreign money), with adjusted EBITDA additionally up by 16% YoY.

In consequence, WMG’s share worth flew upward by 15% on Tuesday, as Financial institution Of America upgraded the agency’s inventory.

Fittingly, this glowing quarterly earnings announcement was the final in Steve Cooper’s 11-year tenure as Chief Government of WMG; Cooper will probably be succeeded within the position within the New Yr by YouTube’s Chief Enterprise Officer, Robert Kyncyl…

3) UNIVERSAL JUST LAUNCHED ITS OWN STREAMING SERVICE FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC VIA DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON

Common Music Group-owned Deutsche Grammophon, which claims to be the world’s oldest file label, simply launched its personal high-res classical music streaming service.

Known as STAGE+, the service is described by Deutsche Grammophon in a press launch as “ground-breaking”. The label calls it the “newest milestone in classical music’s digital growth”.

In response to the STAGE+ web site, a subscription for the service will price EUR €14.90 monthly, or €149 per yr…

4) ARTIST FINANCING PLATFORM BEATBREAD CLOSES $100M FUND TO ‘EMPOWER INDEPENDENT ARTISTS AND LABELS’

Music funding platform beatBread has been making a whole lot of head-turning headlines this yr.

In February, for instance, the agency raised $34 million in a seed spherical led by Fintech-focused enterprise capital agency, Deciens Capital.

Over the summer season, beatBread struck what it stated was a “seven-figure artist financing deal” with singer-songwriter Elley Duhé – its greatest deal but.

Now, MBW can reveal that beatBread has huge plans to speed up its progress within the artist funding house, and it’s simply closed a $100 million institutional fund with asset supervisor Variant Investments to take action..

5) SENATE COMMITTEE TO HOLD TICKET INDUSTRY COMPETITION HEARING AFTER TAYLOR SWIFT TOUR SALE DRAMA

US Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competitors Coverage, Antitrust, and Client Rights, confirmed on Tuesday (November 22) that they may maintain a listening to to “look at” what they are saying is a “lack of competitors within the ticketing business”.

In a press launch, they write that listening to follows the “important service failures and delays on Ticketmaster’s web site that left followers unable to buy live performance tickets”.

Klobuchar and Lee stated that the listening to date and witnesses will probably be introduced at a later date…

MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their earnings and scale back their touring prices.

Music Enterprise Worldwide