Music Business Worldwide Music Business Worldwide (MBW)

On this episode of Music Business Worldwide's Talking Trends, MBW founder, Tim Ingham, is once again joined by Charlie D'Atri, to discuss two key recent headlines from the world of entertainment: 

(1) A battle between Concord and financial giant Blackstone to acquire Hipgnosis Songs Fund – the UK-listed bundle of music rights accumulated by Merck Mercuriadis; 

(2) Spotify's decision to re-categorize its Premium subscription tiers as 'bundles' – including audiobooks – that will materially lessen the royalty rate paid to songwriters in the US.

People and companies mentioned on this Talking Trends podcast include: Spotify, Daniel Ek, Blackstone, Merck Mercuriadis, Concord, NMPA, David Israelite, EQT, Shot Tower Capital, BMG, Citrin Cooperman, and more. 
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).

On this episode of Music Business Worldwide's Talking Trends, MBW founder, Tim Ingham, is joined by Charlie D'Atri, to discuss two key recent headlines from the world of entertainment: 

(1) Criticism of Spotify from non-superstar artists who say the platform isn't paying them a fair amount in royalties; (2) Taylor Swift unilaterally putting her recorded music back on TikTok despite her record company, Universal Music Group, continuing to refuse to license the service.

People and companies mentioned on this Talking Trends podcast include: Universal Music Group, Spotify, Daniel Ek, Sir Lucian Grainge, Stem, Milana Rabkin-Lewis, Virgin Music Group, Beggars Group, Bad Bunny, TikTok, HYBE, Scooter Braun, WeVerse, Meta.
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).

On the latest Music Business Worldwide podcast, MBW founder Tim Ingham is joined by Milana Rabkin Lewis, the founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Stem, a distribution and services company, including financial services for independent artists.

Stem has had a big 12 months. A major highlight arrived last summer when the company announced it had secured a $250 million credit agreement with Victory Park Capital, which has transformed the size and scope of artist advances that Stem can offer.

For a firm 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.
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).

On this episode of Music Business Worldwide's Talking Trends, MBW founder, Tim Ingham, is joined once again by Charlie D'Atri, to discuss two key recent headlines from the world of entertainment: (1) BMI's $100 million payout to songwriters following its acquisition by New Mountain Capital; (2) Universal Music Group's investment into HYBE's 'superfan' app, WeVerse.

People and companies mentioned on this Talking Trends podcast include: BMI, ASCAP, Google, Spotify, New Mountain Capital, BMG, Kobalt, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Sir Lucian Grainge, HYBE, Scooter Braun, Shopify,  David Bianchi, Goldman Sachs, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Vivendi, SeeTickets, WeVerse, and more.
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).

On this episode of Music Business Worldwide's Talking Trends, MBW founder, Tim Ingham, is joined once again by Charlie D'Atri, to discuss two key recent headlines from the world of entertainment: (1) Fortnite's 'Festival', built by music gaming experts Harmonix, in which players can purchase music tracks via in-game store; (2) A stat from Spotify showing that over half the 66,000 artists who generated $10k+ on the platform in 2023 were based in countries where English is not the first language.

People and companies mentioned on this Talking Trends podcast include: Epic Games, Harmonix, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Universal Music Group, Gabe Newell, Valve, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Daniel Ek, Spotify, Luminate, Mavin Records, Believe, and Denis Ladegaillerie.
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).

Welcome to the latest Music Business Worldwide Podcast, supported by Voly Entertainment.

Joining MBW founder, Tim Ingham, on this podcast is Julius Erving III, better known as J. Erving.

Erving is the founder of Los Angeles-based Human Re Sources, a distribution and services company working with premium independent artists. Its successful clients since launch have included Brent Faiyiz, Pinks Sweats, Ant Clemons, and YBN Nahmir.

Right now, though, people are focusing on Human Re Sources for one artist more than any other: RAYE. 

In February 2024, two years after that signing to Human Re Sources, RAYE swept the UK’s BRIT Awards, with a record-breaking six wins including Album Of The Year.

There is, then, lots to ask J Erving about the success of independent artists like RAYE – and what that reflects about the wider music business.

On this podcast, we also ask him about his previous life as an artist manager, his personal motivations, and his decision in 2020 to sell Human Re Sources to Sony Music and The Orchard.
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).