For one factor, Stringer – in contrast to 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, in contrast to UMG and WMG, Sony Music Group isn’t immediately publicly traded. As a substitute it’s an vital (and more and more worthwhile) subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Sony Company, which additionally performs residence to PlayStation, Sony Photos, and different key divisions.
Stringer gave a uncommon interview yesterday (October 10), nevertheless, to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw on the monetary publication’s Screentime convention in Los Angeles.
The duo’s wide-ranging dialog coated floor that occupies the minds of music biz varieties every 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 stability between artists and labels within the report enterprise, plus the position of TikTok… and the way a lot it pays rightsholders for the usage of their music.
You’ll be able to watch Stringer and Shaw’s dialogue under, however we’ve additionally rounded up 4 issues that notably 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 largest 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 value roughly USD $400 million, in response to sources.
The information arrived after Sony reportedly accomplished the acquisition of a career-spanning set of rights for an additional 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 affirm) are as excessive as they’re. Stringer mentioned: “Utilizing the fashionable artwork idea, I believe this music is priceless.”
He added that “there isn’t a value, 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 value are you able to placed on … a Picasso?” It’s relative,” he mentioned.
“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 famous person 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 just lately offered their tune 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 the same digital expertise for the likes of Queen, Michael Jackson or Pink Floyd? The general public’s demand for digital concert events is actually there, as evidenced by the 1.1 million guests to ABBA Voyage final yr.
Stringer additionally provided a little bit of perception into why he believes shopping for catalogs of legacy acts like Pink Floyd are a very good funding within the streaming, noting that the viewers is getting older on “Spotify now, because it hits maturity, notably [in] the English language markets”.
“So if you happen to take a look at the dynamics of {the marketplace}, it implies that the share of individuals listening to older music is far larger. I believe it’s a foregone conclusion, to be trustworthy.”
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 numerous creative understanding and we’ve numerous experience on the construction of these artists’ careers,” he mentioned.
“So that they felt like a very good match. And fairly frankly, I didn’t need any of these artists to go anyplace else.”
Credit score: izzuanroslan/Shutterstock
2) The music rights trade allowed TikTok to ‘grow to be MTV’
The music trade’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 trade to query whether or not artists, songwriters, and report labels are adequately remunerated for the usage of music on its platform.
Initially 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 fee 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 referred to 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 don’t seem to be 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 will be: Did we begin off with TikTok on the precise notice, and did we enable them to grow to be what they suppose they’re, which is a promotional platform? And we most likely did.”
He added: “They don’t seem to be [a] promotional platform. They’re a massively 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 must be paying extra to the music trade, nevertheless.
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 ensure 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 through 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 corporations profit Sony as a result of they’re required to make public disclosures, together with quarterly experiences.
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 mother or father firm, Tokyo-headquartered Sony Corp, is publicly traded and experiences outcomes for its music unit in its quarterly monetary experiences alongside outcomes for its different divisions, together with Gaming and Photos.
“Would I wish to be doing [quarterly earnings],” requested Stringer, in response to the query about his rivals, including: “Not notably.”
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 enormous catalogs and we don’t inform anyone formally as a result of it’s not fairly the identical dynamic.
“Would I wish to be in that place [of running a publicly-traded music company]? No, not likely.”
“To be backstage if you’re doing my job, will not be a horrible factor.”
Rob Stringer
Stringer additionally commented on how “robust” it have to 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 folks within the different corporations,” he mentioned. “I’ve labored with the top of Common [Sir Lucian Grainge] and I’ve identified 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 buyers each three months and it’s a must to speak 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] backstage if you’re doing all of your job will not be 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 backstage is typically higher.”
4) The facility stability 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 “stay, merch, branding… there’s numerous streams now of the music enterprise which might be tremendous profitable, and we’re one strand,” Stringer mentioned.
However in fact, it wasn’t all the time this manner.
“Once I began – I began in 1985 – [labels] managed manufacturing, managed distribution. We managed radio… We had been passport management for artists. So we had much more energy,” Stringer mentioned.
Nonetheless, Stringer says he doesn’t thoughts that report corporations have relinquished their “passport management” credentials.
“I’ve been very snug with that,” he mentioned. “I wished to be the artist companion, I by no means wished to be a cigar-smoking fats cat!”Music Enterprise Worldwide
