From Ed Sheeran’s copyright win to the Grammys’ stats, it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up
Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly recap – where we make sure you’ve heard the five biggest stories that have made our headlines in the past seven days. MBW’s collection is supported by Centtrip, which helps more than 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.
One of the biggest stories to hit our pages this week came from the UK, where superstar recording artist Ed Sheeran won a copyright lawsuit over the alleged infringement of his hit song, Shape of you.
A British artist named Sami Chokri (aka Sami Switch) claimed that Sheeran copied his own song oh why write shape of you, which Sheeran wrote with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid and producer Steve Mac.
Judge Antony Zacaroli concluded that Sheeran and his associates “neither intentionally nor unknowingly” copied Chokri’s song.
In an Instagram post published after the ruling, Sheeran said “unfounded” copyright claims are “harmful to the songwriting industry”.
Elsewhere, according to Nielsen numbers, just 2.24% of 18-49-year-old TV viewers in the US tuned in on Sunday for the 2022 Grammys.
That percentage was actually a bit down on the 2.28% of this demographic who watched the Grammys show the previous year.
(To clarify, Nielsen has a rating of 2.24 at the 2022 Grammys for audiences aged 18-49; this rating indicates the percentage of all US TV-watching adults within this age range who have seen the show. .)
In other words, almost 98% of 18-49 year olds in the United States simply didn’t watch the Grammys on Sunday.
Also this week, Bloomberg reported that Concord was seeking an “extraordinary-plus” buyout offer in the region of $6 billion.
Sources speaking to the publication suggested that Concord has rejected $4.5 billion and $5 billion takeover bids to date.
In addition, BMG entered into a worldwide publishing agreement with the George Harrison Estate to manage the Harrisongs catalog, while Ingrooves won a patent for new music marketing technology.
Here’s What Happened In The Music Business This Week…
1) ED SHEERAN WINS COPYRIGHT LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Ed Sheeran has filed a lawsuit in the United Kingdom for alleged infringement of his single Shape of You.
The case was brought against Sheeran by a British recording artist named Sami Chokri (aka Sami Switch), who alleged that Sheeeran cheated on his song Oh Why, which was released in 2015.
The verdict was handed down in favor of Sheeran in a UK High Court on Wednesday (April 6)…
2) AGAIN ALMOST 98% OF US 18-TO-49 YEARS DON’T WATCH THE GRAMMYS ON SUNDAY
The televised portion of the 64th Annual Grammys, which took place on Sunday (April 3) in Vegas, was watched by 9.59 million viewers in the US on the big night.
This is apparent from the latest figures from Nielsen, in which, in addition to viewers, everyone who has seen the show live on TV via CBS and/or streaming platforms such as Paramount+.
(Previous Nielsen figures, which left viewers out, suggested the show had an audience of 8.93 million.)
Nielsen’s 9.59 million viewership was 3.9% higher than last year’s viewership (9.23 million), according to the Hollywood Reporter.
But the most damning statistic for the Grammys was, again, its appeal among younger viewers…
3) CONCORD REJECTS A $5 BILLION BUYOUT OFFER, PROPOSE BLOOMBERG SOURCES
It has long been rumored that Concord is exploring the possibility of a sale at a valuation of $4 billion.
According to Bloomberg, that’s true, but the company was looking for an “extraordinary-plus” offer in the region of $6 billion.
Indeed, sources speaking to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw suggest Concord has rejected $4.5 billion and $5 billion takeover bids to date.
Concord is majority owned by pension fund, Michigan Retirement Systems…
4) BMG REPRESENTS GEORGE HARRISON PUBLISHING CATALOG VIA GLOBAL DEAL
BMG has entered into a worldwide publishing agreement with the George Harrison Estate to manage the Harrisongs catalog.
The catalog features over 200 songs written by George Harrison with the Beatles, the Traveling Wilburys and for the artist’s solo career. The catalog was previously managed by Concord.
The BMG deal expands the company’s relationship with Harrison’s music company Dark Horse Records, with BMG serving as its global partner in recorded music, music publishing and merchandise, while also developing other business areas…
5) INGROOVES HAS JUST WIN A PATENT FOR NEW MUSIC MARKETING TECHNOLOGY THAT SAYS ‘TO POWER STREAMS WITH ALMOST DOUBLE THAT OF TRADITIONAL METHODS’
Two years ago, Ingrooves Music Group was granted a patent for impressive AI-driven music marketing technology.
Since then, the company owned by the Universal Music Group has been working behind the scenes to further develop its marketing technology and has just won another US patent (which you can see in full here).
Ingrooves’ new proprietary technology powers its own Smart Audience advertising solution, which is able to identify ‘high-value’ streaming audiences for an artist/label based on the user’s listening behavior…
MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps more than 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and lower their tour costs.Music company worldwide