Music Deals -- Week 16 2021

US-based TV group Univision has acquired the content and media assets of Mexico's Grupo Televisa in a transaction valued at $4.8 billion, with Univision paying Televisa $3bn in cash and $1.45bn in equity. Televisa will retain an equity stake of approximately 45% in the combined Televisa-Univision operations. Univision CEO Wade Davis will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the new company, with Grupo Televisa’s co-CEO Alfonsode Angoitia serving as Executive Chairman of the board of directors. “This transformative combination brings together the leading network serving U. Spanish-language audiences with the leading media platform in Mexico powered by the most powerful Spanish-language content engine in the world,” said Davis. 

British independent company Cooking Vinyl has set up a new department "to optimise and grow its catalogue offering to artists and labels." The new division will try to maximise the long-term sales of artists currently signed to the company – including Frank Black, Billy Bragg and The Orb– as well as roll out an "aggressive acquisition policy" to bolster its roster. The new department will be headed up by Steve Bunyan, who worked in the past at Union Square Music and BMG. “The appointment of someone of the calibre and standing of Steve Bunyan allows us to enhance our service to artists and to look to acquire new catalogues of recordings,” said Cooking Vinyl Chairman Martin Goldschmidt. "Our track record, size, flexibility and financial backing means that we offer an attractive bespoke alternative to the larger companies currently hoovering up rights.”

Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Label & Artist Services has entered into a strategic partnership with Metales Preciosos, a new record label launched by former Warner Music Iberia President José Carlos “Charlie” Sanchez.

Warner Music Asia has launched Whet Records, a new Pan-Asian dance label focused on signing both emerging talent and established DJs and producers. Zoe Yang has been appointed head of Whet Records’ China division, reporting to Jonathan Serbin, CEO of Warner Music Greater China. The label’s first signing is producer and DJ Lizzy Wang. 

Joel Broms Brosjo, the Swedish executive who co-founded Spotify-backed Soundtrack Your Brand, has launched Doors, a new platform allowing artists to curate and perform online concerts, communicate with fans and manage ticket sales and royalties. “We provide a one-stop shop for engagement, ticketing, broadcasting, reporting and payment,” Broms Brosjo told Bloomberg, adding that 70% of the platforms' revenue will go to the performers after compensating performance rights and collective management organisations. The service went live on April 19.

Sony-owned London-based anime distributor Manga Entertainment has been rebranded as Funimation in the UK and Ireland. Fumination will also incorporate anime streaming service Crunchyroll, which was acquired by Sony earlier this year. Manga – which produced, licensed and distributed anime products since 1991 – was acquired by Sony in 2019. Fumination's catalogue includes more than 700 anime series and 13,000 hours of content available in 47 countries. “By unifying our brands, it will be apparent to fans, creators and the entire ecosystem that it is a winning formula to deliver more content, more experiences and more community in service to anime. By fully leveraging the global Funimation brand, it’s a win for fans,” said Tim Anderson, SVP of international for Funimation Global Group.

Canadian independent music company CCS Rights Management (CCS) is expanding its focus with the launch of a new neighbouring rights division, which will add to the music publishing, rights administration, and creative services businesses of the company. Lee-Anne Wielonda has been appointed CCS Manager of Neighbouring Rights. She worked previously for Canadian rights management organization ACTRA RACS. CCS has direct affiliations with neighbouring rights management organisations in 30 territories. CCS Neighbouring Rights has sealed a series of worldwide deals to manage the performing rights of sound recordings of artist TateMcRae, children’s entertainment company Spin Master, and Montreal-based record label Higher Reign Music Group. "Launching the new neighbouring rights division is a natural step in fulfilling the company’s mandate of providing a full suite of services to artists, writers and rights holders,” said Jodie Ferneyhough, Founder and President of CCS Rights Management.

Royalty-free music licensing platform Soundstripe has teamed with Medal, the platform for recording and viewing gaming clips and videos on desktop and mobile, to provide its creators with fully licensed music for their video game recordings. “We’re excited to partner with Medal to solve a growing frustration of creators who face ‘takedown’ notices from popular video sharing platforms due to copyright issues,” said Travis Terrell, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Soundstripe. “With Soundstripe music integrated into the Medal platform, users on Medal can record their game clips with high-quality music without worrying their videos will be rejected or removed from YouTube, Twitch, or other platforms.”