Apple Invests $50M Into Music Distributor UnitedMasters

Apple
Jason Tate

Matthew Panzarino, writing for TechCrunch:

Independent music distribution platform and tool factory UnitedMasters has raised a $50M series B round led by Apple. A16z and Alphabet are participating again in this raise. United Masters is also entering a strategic partnership with Apple alongside this investment. 

If you’re unfamiliar with UnitedMasters, it’s a distribution company launched in 2017 by Steve Stoute, a former Interscope and Sony Music executive. The focus of UnitedMasters is to provide artists with a direct pipeline to data around the way that fans are interacting with their content and community, allowing them to connect more directly to offer tickets, merchandise and other commercial efforts. UnitedMasters also generally allows artists to retain control of their own masters.

Spotify Acquires Live Audio App Locker Room

Jason Tate

The Verge:

Spotify has invested heavily in prerecorded podcast content, and now, the company is looking to host live audio conversations. The platform announced today that it’s acquiring Betty Labs, the company behind the live sports audio app Locker Room. Spotify didn’t disclose how much it spent on the purchase. 

As a result of the acquisition, Locker Room will stay live in the App Store but will be rebranded with a different name in the future on iOS and, eventually, Android with a broader focus on music, culture, and sports content. Spotify says it sees live audio as ideal for creators who want to connect with audiences in real time, whether that’s to premiere an album, host a question and answer session, or possibly even perform.

Songwriters Sign Open Letter “Pact”

Jason Tate

Mark Savage, writing for BBC:

In an open letter, the writers behind songs like Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” and Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” said “a growing number of artists” were demanding a share of publishing royalties, even if they had contributed nothing to a song.

”These artists will go on to collect revenue from touring, merchandise [and] brand partnerships,” they said, but “songwriters have only their publishing revenue as a means of income”.

They added that composers were often subjected to “bully tactics and threats” by artists and executives who wanted to take a share of the songwriting royalties.

You can read the open letter at The-Pact.org.