What’s transpired over the last 24; stay tuned for ongoing developments.
Great execution, perfect timing. And with that, Beatport has sold the farm for $50 million to SFX Entertainment. SFX, headed by Robert F.X. Sillerman, will use Beatport to consolidate an often disparate, fragmented (but incredibly valuable) EDM audience. “Beatport gives us direct contact with the DJs and lets us see what’s popular and what’s not,” Sillerman told the New York Times. “Most importantly, it gives us a massive platform for everything related to EDM.”
And the latest industry fairy tale comes from the IFPI, which is popping champagne corks around a 0.3 percent increase in global recording sales, to $16.5 billion. That’s the first recorded increase in 1999, when ‘digital’ and ‘Napster’ were synonyms to most label execs. “It is hard to remember a year for the recording industry that has begun with such a palpable buzz in the air,” IFPI chief executive France Moore toasted. “These are hard-won successes for an industry that has innovated, battled and transformed itself over a decade.”
All of which is reminiscent of the stateside ‘bottom’ in 2011, when the industry (RIAA, NARM, Soundscan) celebrated a slight uptick in recording sales and heralded a turnaround. BigChampagne ultimately pricked that units-based balloon by pointing to steeply-discounted legacy titles…
Which dovetails nicely into P2P, where volumes are (surprise) continuing to sag. The latest research confirms a continued drop in P2P usage in the US, similar to markets like France (and presumably, others worldwide). NPD Group found that the number of US-based unique P2P users slumped 17 percent in 2012, with available files dropping 26 percent.
And the surprise success of Muve could be moving… that is, to other carriers beyond Cricket Wireless. According to information disclosed by Muve EVP of Strategy Bill Ingraham (and reported by GigaOM), the post-Cricket plan could take a number of different branding and packaging variations, including add-on or bundled subscription mobile options.
Elsewhere, Universal Music Group just posted a modest, 3.5 percent gain on the year to 525 million euros ($686.1 million), according to financial details shared by parent Vivendi.
Because ‘indies’ come in all shapes and sizes. Case in point: Glassnote Records (Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, Childish Gambino) has just re-inked its distribution agreement with Sony-owned distributor, RED, its longtime companion.
More ahead!
“And the latest industry fairy tale comes from the IFPI, which this morning pointed to a 0.3 percent increase in global recording sales, to $16.5 billion.”
One word: MegaUpload.