From Believe’s $800m in annual revenues to HYBE ending its SM Entertainment takeover bid… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up

Welcome to Global Music Businessour weekly aggregator – where we make sure you’ve caught our top five headline stories of the past seven days. MBW rounding is supported by Centtriphelping more than 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring expenses.

A story of companies capturing the music business in South Korea entered its latest phase this week, as music giant HYBE officially ended its bid to take over its rival, SM Entertainment .

The K-pop company said in a statement that it is suspending its bid to acquire a 40% stake in SM, following discussions with technology company Kakao, their rival contractor during the SM takeover. .

On Sunday (March 12), HYBE officially withdrew from the battle for control of SM, releasing a statement that read, “HYBE made this decision after noticing signs of overheating in the market. due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment. .”

Elsewhere, SM Entertainment has revealed, through an investor presentation on its global expansion and investment strategy, that it plans to acquire a music company in the US to grow global expansion.

SM said it is currently “reviewing companies that fit SM’s genre” in the US and is looking to expand into hip-hop and R&B.

Meanwhile, the music company based in Paris, and TuneCore owner, Trust, announced full-year financial results for 2022 (the second set of full-year results since floating on Paris Euronext in 2021). The company generated annual sales of €760.8 million ($800 million).

In addition, Midia Research estimates that global recorded music revenue grew 6.7% year-on-year in 2022 to reach $31.2 billion, while SESAC Music Group has acquired content management, analytics, distribution and distribution technology provider AudioSalad.

Here’s what happened this week…

1) HYBE HYBE WITHDRAW TO OWN 40% STOCK IN SM ENTERTAINMENT: ‘The market is showing signs of overheating due to OUR COMPETITION WITH KAKAO.’

HYBE, the South Korean-based music giant, has officially stopped its attempt to buy a 40% stake in rival K-pop company, SM Entertainment.

HYBE said in a statement on Sunday (March 12) that it is suspending its acquisition bid following discussions with technology company Kakao, its rival contractor during the SM takeover.

HYBE last month purchased a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment, for about US$335 million, through a share buyback from Lee Soo-man, the estranged founder of SM Entertainment.

HYBE then publicly announced its intention to acquire an additional 25.2% stake in SM Entertainment – which would bring HYBE’s total stake to 40% – through a public tender offer to minority shareholders. of SM.

If successful, the move will see HYBE spend an additional ≈565 million on SM stock…

2) HYBE IS NOT THE ONLY K-POP GIANT TO HAVE BEEN TO THE US: SM ENTERTAINMENT PLAN TO BUY US$150M to accelerate GLOBAL EXPAND

SM Entertainment has revealed, through an investor presentation, that it plans to acquire a music company in the US to speed up its global expansion.

SM said it is currently “reviewing companies that fit SM’s genre” in the US and is looking to expand into hip-hop and R&B.

The company said it plans to spend 200 billion Korean Won on this investment strategy, which translates at current exchange rates to about $150 million.

That could mean a number of things, such as SM being willing to spend up to $150 million on one company, or possibly planning to spread that investment across the three to five companies under consideration.

Either way, this news is sure to spark rumors in the music industry that SM’s acquisition target or target could be…

3) TRUSTED TO CREATE $800M ANNUAL REVENUE IN 2022, UP 31.8% YoY

Paris-based music company Believe generated annual sales of 760.8 million euros in 2022.

That figure translates to $800 million (at the average annual IRS exchange rate).

The company’s full-year financial results (the second set of full-year results since floating on Paris Euronext in 2021) were released on Wednesday, (March 15)…

4) GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC REVENUE TO $31.2 BILLION by 2022, BUT ‘SIGNIFICANT’ SLOW ANNUAL GROWTH (REPORT)

The global recorded music industry led by streaming may be resilient to macroeconomic uncertainties, but it’s certainly not immune.

That’s the key takeaway from a new report from Midia Research, which estimates a significant deceleration in music growth recorded last year.

According to a report published on Thursday (March 16), global recorded music sales grew only 6.7% year-on-year in 2022 to reach $31.2 billion….

5) SESAC MUSIC GROUP OWNERS THE AUDIOSALAD CONTENT DISTRIBUTION AND DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM

SESAC, a Nashville-based music licensing/collection organization, has acquired New York-based content management, analysis, distribution and management technology provider AudioSalad.

AudioSalad will remain based in New York under the leadership of CEO Iain Catling and CTO Deane Thomas and will continue to operate as an independent business within SESAC Music Group.

SESAC acquires AudioSalad for an undisclosed amount…

MBW’s weekly summaries are powered by Centtrip, helping over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their earnings and reduce their touring expenses.Global Music Business