For one factor, Stringer – not like his contemporaries at Common Music Group and Warner Music Group – isn’t required to face down questions from funding analysts on quarterly earnings calls.
That’s as a result of, not like UMG and WMG, Sony Music Group isn’t straight publicly traded. As an alternative it’s an necessary (and more and more worthwhile) subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Sony Company, which additionally performs dwelling to PlayStation, Sony Photos, and different key divisions.
Stringer gave a uncommon interview yesterday (October 10), nonetheless, to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw on the monetary publication’s Screentime convention in Los Angeles.
The duo’s wide-ranging dialog lined floor that occupies the minds of music biz sorts each day.
Subjects included Sony’s latest catalog M&A splurge, which has seen it purchase rights related to storied acts together with Michael Jackson, Queen, and Pink Floyd.
Stringer additionally mentioned the facility steadiness between artists and labels within the document enterprise, plus the position of TikTok… and the way a lot it pays rightsholders for using their music.
You possibly can watch Stringer and Shaw’s dialogue under, however we’ve additionally rounded up 4 issues that significantly stood out from the interview…
Credit score: PHLD Luca/Shutterstock
1) Sony Music’s boss confirmed their Pink Floyd, Queen and Michael Jackson offers… and pointed to ‘experiential’ alternatives for heritage acts.
One of many greatest revelations from Stringer’s interview at Bloomberg’s Screentime convention was the affirmation of the corporate’s latest catalog offers with Pink Floyd, Queen, and the property of MichaelJackson.
Earlier this month, we reported that Pink Floyd had agreed to promote their recorded music catalog to Sony Music in an settlement price roughly USD $400 million, in line with sources.
The information arrived after Sony reportedly accomplished the acquisition of a career-spanning set of rights for one more legendary band, Queen, for over $1 billion, earlier this yr.
The MichaelJackson sale, in the meantime, first reported in February, sees Sony Music buying 50% of Jackson’s publishing and recorded masters catalog, whereas collaborating in different earnings streams.
Stringer was requested why Sony has been so energetic in shopping for these catalogs and to elucidate why the reported values of the three most up-to-date offers (which he didn’t verify) are as excessive as they’re. Stringer stated: “Utilizing the fashionable artwork idea, I believe this music is priceless.”
He added that “there is no such thing as a worth, so far as I’m involved, for Pink Floyd” and equated the worth of the legendary British band’s catalog to a portray by Pablo Picasso.
“What worth are you able to placed on … a Picasso?” It’s relative,” he stated.
“Utilizing the fashionable artwork idea, I believe this music is priceless.”
Rob Stringer
Stringer additionally confirmed that Sony “purchased title and likeness on two of these acts”, including that Sony now owns “all of the logos [and] merchandising,” and pointed to the “experiential potential” and “occasion potential” offered by proudly owning the NIL rights.
Experiential occasions utilizing the likeness and music of celebrity artists may be very massive enterprise. Simply a few weeks in the past, we discovered that the ABBA Voyage digital expertise in London generated over $129 million in 2023.
Legendary rock band KISS lately bought their track catalog, plus title, picture and likeness rights — together with their face paint designs — to music funding agency Pophouse Leisure (the corporate behind ABBA Voyage) and likewise plan to launch a digital live performance sequence that includes digital variations of themselves.
May we see an identical digital expertise for the likes of Queen, Michael Jackson or Pink Floyd? The general public’s demand for digital live shows is definitely there, as evidenced by the 1.1 million guests to ABBA Voyage final yr.
Stringer additionally supplied a little bit of perception into why he believes shopping for catalogs of legacy acts like Pink Floyd are a superb funding within the streaming, noting that the viewers is getting older on “Spotify now, because it hits maturity, significantly [in] the English language markets”.
“So if you happen to take a look at the dynamics of {the marketplace}, it signifies that the proportion of individuals listening to older music is way increased. I believe it’s a foregone conclusion, to be sincere.”
Stringer additionally identified that Sony already had long-running relationships with “each one” of the artists with which the corporate has struck latest massive cash catalog offers, together with Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Queen and Bob Dylan.
“We’ve a variety of inventive understanding and we’ve a variety of experience on the construction of these artists’ careers,” he stated.
“In order that they felt like a superb match. And fairly frankly, I didn’t need any of these artists to go wherever else.”
Credit score: izzuanroslan/Shutterstock
2) The music rights business allowed TikTok to ‘grow to be MTV’
The music business’s relationship with TikTok is usually harmonious, but typically fractious.
The argument that music has performed a key position in TikTok’s progress has led some within the business to query whether or not artists, songwriters, and document labels are adequately remunerated for using music on its platform.
Firstly of the yr, Common Music Group pulled its catalog fromTikTok, primarily as a result of, in UMG’s phrases, “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a charge that may be a fraction of the speed that equally located main social platforms pay”.
However after a three-month licensing stand-off, UMG and TikTok struck what they known as “a brand new multi-dimensional licensing settlement”.
“We allowed them to be MTV and we shouldn’t have completed that. And now we’re backpedaling. They aren’t a promotional platform.”
Rob Stringer
Throughout his interview on Thursday, Stringer was requested if TikTok pays Sony Music sufficient.
Stringer argued that “the talk on that may be: Did we begin off with TikTok on the best word, and did we permit them to grow to be what they suppose they’re, which is a promotional platform? And we most likely did.”
He added: “They aren’t [a] promotional platform. They’re a vastly worthwhile company and we allowed them to be MTV and we shouldn’t have completed that. And now we’re backpedaling from that.”
TikTok’s not the one service that Stringer says ought to be paying extra to the music business, nonetheless.
He added: “The reality is, we must always receives a commission extra by a number of of our a number of of our DSP companions. And that’s a part of my job. It’s to guarantee that we’re paid after which flip the eyes to pay.”
Credit score: Shutterstock
3) On… why he’s glad to not run a public music firm like Warner Music Group and Common Music Group
Elsewhere throughout the interview, Stringer was requested concerning the variations between Sony and its rivals Warner and Common and whether or not these rivals being publicly traded firms profit Sony as a result of they’re required to make public disclosures, together with quarterly stories.
Common Music listed on the Amsterdam Euronext in October 2021, whereas Warner Music Group launched its IPO on the NASDAQ in 2020.
Sony Music’s mum or dad firm, Tokyo-headquartered Sony Corp, is publicly traded and stories outcomes for its music unit in its quarterly monetary stories alongside outcomes for its different divisions, together with Gaming and Photos.
“Would I need to be doing [quarterly earnings],” requested Stringer, in response to the query about his rivals, including: “Not significantly.”
Added Stringer: “We don’t even put out press releases concerning the issues we do, which I do know typically is a bit of bit annoying [for the media].
“We are able to signal large catalogs and we don’t inform anyone formally as a result of it’s not fairly the identical dynamic.
“Would I need to be in that place [of running a publicly-traded music company]? No, not likely.”
“To be behind the scenes while you’re doing my job, just isn’t a horrible factor.”
Rob Stringer
Stringer additionally commented on how “robust” it should be, to be the chief of a publicly traded music firm like Common or Warner.
“I believe it’s robust and I’m pleasant with individuals within the different firms,” he stated. “I’ve labored with the top of Common [Sir Lucian Grainge] and I’ve recognized him for practically 35 years. It’s a it’s a tricky gig, that. It’s [tough] to be actually reporting again to shareholders and traders each three months and it’s important to discuss your organization up.”
Added Stringer: “I’m lucky that I do investor evaluation conferences twice a yr and I contribute to the Sony quarterlies, however I’m left a bit of bit extra.
I believe that [being] behind the scenes while you’re doing all of your job just isn’t a horrible factor. The artists are in entrance of the curtain. The expertise is in entrance of the curtain. And I believe [a music company CEO] being behind the scenes is usually higher.”
4) The ability steadiness between artists and labels
Stringer additionally argued that within the period of digital music, “the artists have on the very least equal energy to us, if no more energy to us, as a result of we’re a part of an total image.”
That “total image” contains “dwell, merch, branding… there’s a variety of streams now of the music enterprise which are tremendous profitable, and we’re one strand,” Stringer stated.
However in fact, it wasn’t all the time this fashion.
“After I began – I began in 1985 – [labels] managed manufacturing, managed distribution. We managed radio… We have been passport management for artists. So we had much more energy,” Stringer stated.
Nonetheless, Stringer says he doesn’t thoughts that document firms have relinquished their “passport management” credentials.
“I’ve been very snug with that,” he stated. “I wished to be the artist associate, I by no means wished to be a cigar-smoking fats cat!”Music Enterprise Worldwide
