Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.
This week we got some interesting Spotify-related news, with the streaming service revealing that it has seen a significant uptick in conversions to paid subscriptions on Apple devices, ever since Apple was ordered by a court order to allow third-party app developers to direct users to payment systems outside the Apple Store.
Also in Spotify news, regulatory filings showed that company co-founder Martin Lorentzon sold a whopping $666 million of his Spotify shares in the space of a week.
We also got word this week that Universal Music Group‘s Latin artist services company Global Talent Services (GTS) has acquired Latin music management company RLM (Rosa Laguarrige Management), which will be integrated into GTS.
Elsewhere, a news report out of South Korea pointed to the possible next target of K-pop giant HYBE‘s global expansion: India.
And closer to home, MBW revealed its new Music Business Jobs platform, connecting industry professionals with top career opportunities.
Here’s what happened this week…
TT News Agency / Alamy
1) MARTIN LORENTZON JUST CASHED OUT $666M WORTH OF SPOTIFY STOCK IN LESS THAN A WEEK
Spotify co-founder Martin Lorentzon has offloaded a mountain of shares in the streaming giant.
On Wednesday, May 21, Lorentzon sold 1 million shares at Tuesday’s closing price of $658.60 per share, raising a total of $658.6 million. That’s right: nearly $659 million in ONE GO.
The sale was executed through his holding company Rosello Co. Ltd, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, spotted by MBW.
The divestment came just five days after Lorentzon unloaded another 11,275 shares for $7.3 million on Friday (May 16), which was filed with the SEC under his full name, Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon, instead of his holding company Rosello…
2) UNIVERSAL’S GTS ACQUIRES LATIN MUSIC MANAGEMENT COMPANY RLM
Universal Music Group-owned Latin artist services agency Global Talent Services (GTS) has acquired prominent Latin music management company RLM (Rosa Lagarrigue Management).
GTS said on Monday (May 19) that since RLM’s founding in 1980, the Spain-headquartered management company “has been a benchmark in the development of artistic talent worldwide”.
Led by founder Rosa Lagarrigue, the company has worked with artists like Miguel Bosé, Mecano, Alejandro Sanz, Raphael, Sara Baras, Rozalén, and Marlena, among others.
Lagarrigue will join the GTS leadership as Global Executive Vice President, alongside the RLM team, which will be integrated into the company…
Spotify said its iOS app update, approved by Apple earlier this month, drove “a significant increase” in conversions from free to Premium subscriptions.
On May 2, Spotify said Apple approved its app updated in the US, a move that was prompted by a federal court ruling that found Apple in “willful violation” of a previous injunction against its App store practices.
Spotify users on Apple devices are now able to use other payment options beyond Apple Pay. Previously, apps were barred from mentioning alternative payment options or indicating that external payments might be less secure.
Spotify is among the first to update its app, the result of a legal battle that began with Epic Games’ 2020 lawsuit challenging Apple‘s app distribution policies…
Piotr Swat/Shutterstock
4) HYBE REPORTEDLY EYEING EXPANSION INTO INDIA – COULD A LOCAL ACQUISITION BE ITS ROUTE INTO THE EMERGING MARKET?
HYBE is becoming a truly global entertainment giant.
Over the past few years, the South Korea-born K-Pop firm has expanded into Japan, followed by the United States and, most recently, Latin America.
But the company’s global ambitions clearly don’t stop there. The big question is, where in the world is HYBE planning to expand to next?
The answer may have arrived via a recent story published by South Korean news agency Yonhap, which, citing sources in the investment community, reported that HYBE is planning to establish an office in Mumbai, India…
5) HIRING? TRY MUSIC BUSINESS WORLDWIDE’S ALL-NEW JOBS PLATFORM…
Music Business Worldwide is delighted to unveil our all-new Music Business Jobs platform, connecting industry professionals with top career opportunities.
Music Business Jobs offers unparalleled reach and effectiveness for companies hiring talent, providing access to MBW’s global audience of savvy executives across all industry sectors.
Recruiters can purchase a Basic listing or boost their role’s visibility with additional high-impact promotion across MBW’s website, emails, and social channels.
MBW founder Tim Ingham said: “Music Business Jobs is simply the most powerful solution available for music companies looking to connect with exceptional executive talent.
“We’ve custom-built an intelligent platform to draw the eyeballs and interest of brilliant people who are serious about the music business.
“MBW’s readers aren’t casual observers – they’re the executives driving the global industry forward…”
MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.Music Business Worldwide
