Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly roundup – where we make sure you’ve caught the five biggest stories that have made headlines over the past seven days. The MBW Roundup is supported by Centtripwhich helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and lower their touring costs.
A corporate saga affecting South Korea’s music industry entered its final phase this week, as music giant HYBE officially ended its bid to take over rival SM Entertainment.
The K-pop company said in a statement that it was suspending its takeover bid, for a 40% stake in SM, following a discussion with technology company Kakao – its competitor in the process of acquiring SM. SM.
On Sunday March 12, HYBE officially withdrew from the battle for control of SM, issuing a statement that reads: “HYBE made this decision after observing that the market was showing signs of overheating due to competition with Kakao and Kakao Entertainment. .”
Elsewhere, SM Entertainment revealed, via an investor presentation outlining its global expansion and investor strategy, that it plans to acquire a music company in the United States to accelerate its global expansion.
SM says he is “currently looking at suitable businesses for SM’s genre spectrum” in the United States and looking to expand into hip-hop and R&B.
Meanwhile, Paris-based music company and TuneCore owner Believe has released its annual financial results for 2022 (its second set of annual results since listing on Euronext Paris in 2021). The company generated annual revenues of €760.8 million (US$800 million).
Additionally, Midia Research estimated that global recorded music revenue grew 6.7% year-on-year in 2022 to $31.2 billion, while SESAC Music Group acquired management technology provider, analysis, delivery and distribution of AudioSalad content.
Here’s what happened this week…
1) HYBE WITHDRAWALS BID TO ACQUIRE 40% STAKE IN SM ENTERTAINMENT: “THE MARKET HAS SHOWN SIGNS OF OVERHEATING DUE TO OUR COMPETITION WITH KAKAO.”
South Korea-based music giant HYBE has officially ended its bid to acquire a 40% stake in rival K-pop company SM Entertainment.
HYBE said in a statement on Sunday March 12 that it was suspending its takeover bid following discussions with technology company Kakao – its competitor in the SM takeover process.
HYBE last month acquired a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment, for approximately $335 million, through the acquisition of shares from Lee Soo-man, the estranged founder of SM Entertainment.
HYBE then went public with its intention to acquire an additional 25.2% of SM Entertainment shares – which would have brought HYBE’s total stake to 40% – via a tender offer to SM’s minority shareholders.
If successful, the move would have seen HYBE spend an additional ≈ $565 million in SM shares…
2) HYBE NOT THE ONLY K-POP GIANT TARGETING THE US: SM ENTERTAINMENT PLANS $150M US ACQUISITION TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL EXPANSION
SM Entertainment has revealed, via an investor presentation, that it plans to acquire a music company in the United States to accelerate its global expansion.
SM says he is “currently looking at suitable businesses for SM’s genre spectrum” in the United States and looking to expand into hip-hop and R&B.
The company said it plans to spend 200 billion South Korean won on the investment strategy, which converts at current exchange rates to about 150 million US dollars.
This could mean certain things, for example, that SM is willing to spend up to $150 million on a company, or he could plan to split that investment allocation among the three to five companies under consideration.
Either way, this news will undoubtedly spark the music industry’s gossip about who SM’s acquisition target(s) might be…
3) BELIEVE GENERATED $800M ANNUAL REVENUE IN 2022, UP 31.8% YEAR
Paris-based music company Believe generated annual revenue of 760.8 million euros in 2022.
This turnover translates into 800 million US dollars (at average annual exchange rates according to the IRS).
The company’s annual financial results (its second set of annual results since listing on Euronext Paris in 2021) were released on Wednesday March 15…
4) GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC REVENUES REACHED $31.2 BILLION IN 2022, BUT ANNUAL GROWTH SLOWED “SIGNIFICANTLY” (REPORT)
The streaming-led global recorded music industry may be resilient in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty, but it is certainly not immune.
That’s the main finding of a new report from Midia Research, which estimates a dramatic deceleration in the growth of recorded music over the past year.
According to the report, released Thursday, March 16, global recorded music revenues grew only 6.7% year-on-year in 2022 to US$31.2 billion….
5) SESAC MUSIC GROUP ACQUIRES AUDIOSALAD CONTENT DISTRIBUTION AND DELIVERY PLATFORM
SESAC, the Nashville-based music licensing/collection company, has acquired AudioSalad, a New York-based content management, analytics, delivery and distribution technology provider.
AudioSalad will retain its New York headquarters under CEO Iain Catling and CTO Deane Thomas and will continue to operate as a stand-alone business within the SESAC Music Group.
SESAC has acquired AudioSalad for an undisclosed amount…
