Glastonbury Festival cancelled for second year running due to coronavirus January 21, 2021 Glastonbury has been cancelled for the second year running due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers confirmed today. The iconic music festival was scrapped last year due to the outbreak of Covid-19, with tickets automatically rolled over to 2021. But this year’s event will also not go ahead due to continued restrictions in place to halt [...]
Hipgnosis adds Metallica and Michael Buble rights as it launches share sale January 21, 2021 Music royalties fund Hipgnosis has acquired the producer rights to a string of tracks by Metallica and Michael Buble as it announced a new share issue to help fund its non-stop buying spree. The London-listed firm has acquired 100 per cent of a catalogue of songs made by Canadian record producer and mixer Bob Rock. [...]
Revenue at Daily Mail publisher plunges as print circulation drops January 21, 2021 Underlying revenue at Daily Mail publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) fell 15 per cent during the last quarter, as circulation of consumer print titles fell seven per cent. DMGT reported group revenue stood at £304m in the three months to 31 December 2020, down an underlying 15 per cent. The publisher, which also [...]
Hipgnosis boss: Music industry at risk from ‘gluttonous’ record labels January 21, 2021 The music industry is under threat from “gluttonous” record labels taking royalties away from artists and songwriters, the boss of music investment firm Hipgnosis has said. Merck Mercuriadis accused the major record companies of “trying to take everything for themselves”, warning that some artists were unable to survive off royalty income as a result. “The [...]
Teacher’s pet: Pearson shares lead the FTSE gainers after return to sales growth January 20, 2021 Teacher's pet: Pearson shares lead the FTSE gainers after return to sales growth
British musicians ‘shamelessly failed’ over post-Brexit touring January 20, 2021 Musicians have been “shamelessly failed” by the government over the failure to secure visa-free touring after Brexit, some of the UK’s biggest music stars have said. Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran and Liam Gallagher are among more than 100 signatories on a damning open letter that warns many performers could be “tipped over the edge” [...]
Tesla is hiring someone to defend Elon Musk on social media January 20, 2021 Elon Musk’s indiscretions on social media have moved stock markets, led to a high-publicised defamation lawsuit and landed him a $20m fine. But it seems the blunt billionaire is now going on the defensive, hiring someone to fend off attacks by Twitter trolls. A job advert posted by Tesla, Musk’s booming electric car maker, said [...]
BBC warned to ready itself for lower licence fee income by public spending watchdog January 20, 2021 The BBC has been warned to match its priorities and future strategy with an assumption that licence fee income may fall further still.
Audioboom shares rise as podcast listeners tune in January 19, 2021 Audioboom shares pushed higher this morning after the podcasting platform reported a jump in revenue last year. The London-listed firm posted revenue of roughly $26.8m (£19.7m) in 2020, up by a fifth on the previous year. Audioboom, which hosts and distributes podcasts including No Such Thing As A Fish and Sue Perkins: An Hour Or [...]
Greatest Day: One Media IP snaps up Take That producer royalties January 18, 2021 One Media IP Group has bought the producer royalties of a selection of tracks by pop group Take That from British producer Ian Levine. The Aim-listed company said the tracks included “A Million Love Songs” and “I Found Heaven” from Take That’s 1992 album for an undisclosed sum. The group has also bought the producer [...]