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- Radio Edit | 4.14.23
Radio Edit | 4.14.23
a music industry newsletter
Radio Edit Team
April 14, 2023
If you’re currently stuck in traffic on the 10 heading to Coachella and need to kill some time, look no further. This week’s letter looks at Fortnite’s collaboration with the festival, Post Malone’s fever dream of a Raising Cane’s restaurant, and a peak behind the catalog valuation curtain. Other stories include Amazon Music’s new partnership with Stagecoach and concerns for music supervisors over a looming writer’s strike.
Top Stories
How do you value a music catalog? Ask the woman who has calculated 750 of them
As the catalog arms race has resulted in some massive deals and eye-popping paydays, a pivotal part the equation is the person who determines what these catalogs are actually worth. Nari Matsuura, founder of the valuation division at Citrin Cooperman’s music economics and valuation services practice, has probably more experience in this area than anyone. From 2021 to 2022 alone, she oversaw $15.5 billion in catalog evaluations for the company’s list of clients that includes Hipgnosis, Primary Wave, and Reservoir Media.
Matsuura recently sat down with Billboard to discuss their valuation process and some of the challenges they’ve encountered with a constantly evolving industry often unpredictable market factors. Here are some takeaways from that interview:
On what factors are considered when valuing a catalog
“Our job is to determine the market value of a given music catalog using different inputs that go into a valuation model. One of them is the discount rate, but the majority of inputs that go into developing the model are actually growth rates. How the music industry is performing across different income streams — and it’s performing very strongly — is another consideration.”
On how success on TikTok can affect a catalog’s value
“TikTok can impact the value of a catalog in different ways. It may raise the overall value on a long-term basis — for example, the [viral] effect of “Dreams” on Fleetwood Mac’s catalog — or it may have a more temporary effect. The way we forecast royalties from TikTok is by using comps — that is, TikTok spikes from similar titles and artists — and we’ll also consider whether there may be momentum following the spike that could generate additional value to the song or even catalog.”
On the potential impact that a Spotify price increase could have on the market
“Music is a relatively price-inelastic product whose business model essentially reversed itself, from a CD model of $18 for 18 tracks, or $1 per track, to the streaming model — which, at $10 per month for unlimited listening of an unlimited number of tracks, is effectively a marginal cost of zero for each additional track. This is so reasonable that consumers are less price sensitive to it than other goods, and an increase in the subscription price should for the most part lead directly to additional revenue for the DSPs and rights holders.” Billboard
“We’ve got some crazy stuff in there”
Frustrated that there wasn’t a Raising Cane’s location near his Utah home, Post Malone asked his friend and RC founder & CEO, Todd Graves, if they would build one. Not only did Graves oblige, but he let Malone design the entire location himself. The wild custom restaurant includes:
Painted in black and electric pink, the building’s exterior features an illustration of Malone’s tattooed face on the parking lot-facing wall. Sitting in that parking lot is a classic 1974 Ford F250 pickup truck wrapped in silver and a license plate that says “POSTY” (with a heart)
Inside, there are displays of guitars and outfits Post has worn, including the suit he wore to the 2019 Grammys and the clothes from his Billboard magazine cover shoot
Drawing from his affinity for medieval armor, the restrooms are castle-themed and feature a suit of armor. There is also a pink vinyl-wrapped vending machine where customers can buy exclusive merchandise
At the counter, customers can order a featured menu item of Post’s favorites: four chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, two containers of Cane’s sauce, two Texas toasts, and half lemonade/half unsweet tea in a collector’s cup
In talking about how this unique and unlikely partnership came to pass, Graves mentioned that it was born from a years-long friendship and mutual admiration between the two. “I was a fan of his music, and he was a fan of my chicken fingers. We talked about life, we shotgunned some beers, and a friendship was born.” Salt Lake Tribune
Coachella teams up with Fortnite to bring festival experience to users around the world with ‘Coachella Island’
In their renewed partnership with Coachella, Fortnite will be giving users the chance to explore the festival in the metaverse with the launch of Coachella Island- a virtual recreation of the festival complete with classic Coachella visual elements and some key music tie-ins. Some of the features include:
Virtual replicas of iconic Coachella art installations like Spectra, balloon chains, and the Coachella Ferris Wheel
An in-game Icon Radio playlist featuring songs from this year’s lineup of artists
Coachella-inspired outfits and in-game items available for purchase in the Fortnite Item Shop. This year’s collection features two new outfits: “Sunset Alto” and “Desert Dawn Lyric”
In a statement about the partnership, innovation lead at Coachella Sam Schoonover says, “the future of in-game music and art experiences should not mimic the real-world, but reimagine the magic and make it more accessible via a new medium. We believe that the best way to do that is to enable and empower artists to show us the way. Just like the festival IRL is a stage for musicians, Coachella Island is now a canvas for gaming creators. Fortnite provides the tools needed to invite creators and fans to participate in this creative process.” TechCrunch
What Else Is Going On
Signings
Maggie Rogers signs pub deal with UMPG
Oliver Tree signs global publishing deal with Warner Chappell
Streaming / Radio
Following Spotify’s example, YouTube Music adds lyrics feature to mobile platform
Amazon Music announced as streaming partner for this year’s Stagecoach Festival. The partnership will include a livestream of the festival’s performances and backstage interviews from the service’s Country Heat podcast
To prevent AI companies from being able to train their technology, UMG has asked streaming services to block their access
Live / Touring
Forest Hills Stadium unveils 100th anniversary lineup; includes: Boygenius, The Strokes, and LCD Soundsystem
Billy McFarland hints that a “second” Fyre Festival could be coming
Lebron’s agent, Rich Paul, joins Live Nation board of directos
Label
Warner Music Mexico launches Gorgona, a new women-run music label
Sony Music sues dance label for unauthorized version of 2014 track that has garnered 200mm streams on Spotify
Publishing
Pulse Music Group forms joint venture with client Cordae, HI-LEVEL Publishing
Tech / Social Media
MQA, maker of high-res master quality audio streamable for Tidal loses largest financial backer
A look at the unsexy, but crucial business of metadata
Other
A guide of this year’s Coachella parties and events
MGK fans will get a look at his hometown show at Cleveland’s NRG Stadium when “Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland: The Pink Era” his theaters for one night only on May 13th
YouTube’s merch collaboration with Coachella features exclusive pieces from Gorillaz, Yungblud, Ethel Cain and more
Bad Bunny has launched a new sports agency, Rimas Sports
What a potential Hollywood writer’s strike looks like for the industry’s music supervisors
Opry Entertainment Group and Luke Combs team up on reimagined Wildhorse Saloon, set to open next year
Tim McGraw announces new Nashville-based media, entertainment and marketing company, Down Home
Appointments / Departures
Appointments
Capitol Music Group promotes Jen Ashworth to SVP, Commercial Marketing & Streaming
Former UMG exec Amanda Tumulty joins Cinq Music Group as VP, Global Marketing
Discogs appoints Lloyd Star as COO
Manager of Aly & AJ, Jared Rosenberg, joins Red Light Management
Atlantic Records brings on Mateo Dorado as Director, A&R
Departures
Former Sony Music UK exec Mark Collen leaves company to launch new consultancy firm, Night Manager Entertainment
Upcoming Shows
NYC | Apr 14 | August Burns Red | Palladium Times Square | Tickets
Featured Releases
The National Feat. Phoebe Bridgers / Your Mind Is Not Your Friend (S) / 4AD
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Crumb / Crushxd (S) / Crumb Records
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Post Malone / Chemical (S) / Mercury/Republic
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