The productisation of music rights

June 4, 2021 | 319 views

News that New York-based Pershing Square Tontine Holdings is planning to acquire 10% of UMG is the latest in a wave of financial transactions in the music rights space. Alongside this, Believe’s impending IPO has the potential to be one of the biggest things to happen to the independent music sector in some time, and comes as part of a wave of IPOs (e.g. WMG, UMG), SPACs (e.g. Anghami, Reservoir) and no end of catalogue funds and acquisition vehicles. This trend, with good cause, has been referred to as the ‘financialisation of music’ but that only captures part of what is at play here. This is more than simply an influx of capital and debt; financial institutions are now becoming part of the plumbing of the music business, and in turn they are changing the definition of what constitutes success. This shift in objectives and desired outcomes has the potential to rebalance how the music industry operates.

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Broadway Video

Founded in 1979 by Lorne Michaels, creator and executive producer of "Saturday Night Live,"​ Broadway Video Entertainment is New York's leading full-service entertainment company. BVE offers an unparalleled scope of services that include the production of some of the country's most popular TV programming and feature films, the marketing and distribution of a rich entertainment library and access to state-of-the-art design and post production facilities staffed by the industry's most creative visual and sound designers and technicians.

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MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming arrives on iOS with some Apple restrictions

Article | June 8, 2021

Microsoft is expanding its Project xCloud service to the iPhone today. The software giant is launching a beta of xCloud through Apple’s TestFlight service, allowing xCloud testers to try the service on an iPhone or iPad. It’s the first time we’ve seen a cloud game streaming service appear on iOS since the days of OnLive — and OnLive’s iOS app wound up in limbo when Apple didn’t approve it. Google’s Stadia and Nvidia’s GeForce Now are still not available on Apple’s devices, either, and neither company has been able to tell us when that might change.

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MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Apple's AR & VR headset may not need external input for orientation & motion detection

Article | June 14, 2021

Apple is continuing to investigate headsets like its "AR Glasses," as part of its exploration of Augmented and Virtual Reality systems. One such headset in future may utilize sensors that can detect angular rotation, such as that experienced when the device is placed on a user's head or removed. "[It] may be beneficial for the VR headset to be able to detect when a head-worn device (e.g., headset, eyeglasses, headphones, etc.) is being removed from the user's head, is being placed on the user's head, or both," says Apple in US Patent No. 10,557,724, "Angle detection of a rotating system using a single magnet and multiple hall sensors."

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MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Game On: These Entertainment Stocks Hit New Levels

Article | June 17, 2021

Some Chinese entertainment stocks listed in the U.S. got a boost last week after the People Bank of China (PBOC) said it would pump $173 billion into the economy. Since news of the report from Beijing hit the street, one of the biggest gainers was Chinese gaming giant NetEase Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES) NetEase, a partner of California-based Blizzard Entertainment in China, traded as low as $317.48 per American depositary share within the last couple of weeks, and soared as high as $347.95 apiece last week. NetEase rolled out its international presence in recent years in Japan and North America, lowering its China dependency.

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The Future of Tech: Gaming Consoles, the Xbox and PlayStation of Tomorrow

Article | February 10, 2020

Consoles have come a very long way since the arrival of first-generation machines from Atari and Coleco in the seventies. Even the original PlayStation (1994) and Xbox (2001) look dated compared to the 4K/HDR-capable machines of today, and that divide will grow even larger once the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X arrive at the end of 2020. But what about the future? More than once console makers have tried to break new ground, by focusing on functionality beyond gaming, but for the most part those attempts have failed. Nintendo has found the most success with specialized hardware that still focuses on games first, while Sony and Microsoft have seemingly understood that building powerful general purpose machines that are akin to PCs is their best and safest bet.

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Spotlight

Broadway Video

Founded in 1979 by Lorne Michaels, creator and executive producer of "Saturday Night Live,"​ Broadway Video Entertainment is New York's leading full-service entertainment company. BVE offers an unparalleled scope of services that include the production of some of the country's most popular TV programming and feature films, the marketing and distribution of a rich entertainment library and access to state-of-the-art design and post production facilities staffed by the industry's most creative visual and sound designers and technicians.

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TECHNOLOGIES, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Ant Media Integrates Zixi for Live Streaming

Zixi | February 10, 2023

Zixi, a software development company, has recently partnered with Ant Media, and Ant Media Server (AMS) has integrated Zixi's software-defined video platform (SDVP) for real-time live streaming. Using the Zixi protocol, AMS can connect to the vast broadcast-quality live sources and enhance stream resilience with aware routing and patented dynamic family entertainment centers (FEC), network utilization, bandwidth shaping, DTLS and AES content-encryption security, error-free video transfer over IP networks, less uptime, multicast transport, bandwidth efficiency, and encoder backpressure. It can also manage large-scale configurations and networking. AMS is a streaming engine that uses Zixi-enabled live sources and provides streaming with WebRTC technology and sub-0.5-second latency. Auto-scale clustering assists publishers and viewers on a larger scale, supporting a wide range of viewers and streams. Its users can publish AMS streams to the SDVP, utilizing workflow, GPU-accelerated live transcoding, hitless failover, bonding over disparate networks, purpose-built live operations dashboards, live channels' centralized management, and enhanced visualization. In addition, it delivers Zixi-protected streams through the WebRTC full-stack network, SFU, MCU, and Data Channel for global reach. CEO/Co-founder of Ant Media, Ahmet Oguz Mermerkaya, said, "With integrated Zixi Protocol support, Ant Media Servers have access to the industry-leading performance, efficiency, security, and reliability that the SDVP enables." He added, "By leveraging the combined AMS and SDVP solution, our common customers have access to high-performance, scalable real-time video distribution." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) Senior Vice President of Alliances and Marketing at Zixi, John Wastcoat, said, "This exciting integration was initially requested from a video game and Esports live streaming platforms." He added, "And Ant Media Server's WebRTC cutting-edge innovation delivers the infrastructure necessary for next-generation, mission-critical applications such as live game shows, e-learning, and mobile streaming." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Zixi Zixi, a cloud-driven solutions provider, has an on-premises software-defined video platform, enabling reliable broadcast video delivery over any IP network, protocol, cloud provider, and edge device. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, it has been offering technological services to mobile service providers, video providers, enterprises, and broadcasters worldwide. It specializes in the fields of live streaming, virtual content supply chain, glass-to-glass solutions, video distribution on a large scale, media processing, IP-based distribution, contribution at scale, forward error correction, OTT delivery, seamless failover, multi-path delivery, remote production solutions, live sports distribution, VOD delivery, broadcast solutions, and cloud services.

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TECHNOLOGIES, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Breezeline Offers Cloud-based, Integrated Streaming TV in Cleveland and Columbus

Breezeline | January 30, 2023

Breezeline, the eighth-largest cable operator in the U.S., has recently launched its brand-new cloud-based and integrated TV streaming in its service areas, Cleveland and Columbus (Ohio). Now, its customers can watch their favorite programs on any device they want! Using Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) technology, this cloud-based TV allows users to watch live and recorded TV on any device, whether they're at home or on the go. It will allow users to watch live TV, as well as record shows, watch programs on demand, and use streaming services. There are options to restart, rewind in real-time, and catch up. With Cloud DVR Max, one can record in high definition for up to almost 300 hours. By integrating Google Assistant, users can now use voice commands to do things like find or suggest a show, launch an app, or get the latest weather forecast. By late summer, all of its TV subscribers will have been migrated to the new system. It's open to new commercial and residential clients. Heather McCallion, Vice President, Products and Programming for Breezeline, said, “Since we acquired the Cleveland and Columbus operations, we’ve invested ten of millions of dollars into our network to improve reliability and performance. Now, we’re ready to deliver a powerful, versatile viewing experience on multiple devices inside and outside the home that is also incredibly simple to use.” (Source – Business Wire) About Breezeline Breezeline, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc., provides TV, video streaming, voice service, and internet networks to residential and business customers. It has its headquarters in Canada as well. It gives an updated entertainment experience with instant rewind, search, access to about 5,000 apps, cloud DVR storage, and many more features. In addition, it offers 100 Mbps to 1000 Mbps internet speed at a reasonable price according to the customer’s plans. Furthermore, it secures customers’ personal information and devices with WiFi Your Way™ Home, powered by Plume® HomePass. Its voice services include call waiting, 3-way calling, voicemail, and Breezeline Voice Manager.

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APPLICATIONS

Armanino Expands Entertainment Expertise with the Addition of Blue Sky Group and Royalty Compliance Organization

businesswire | March 24, 2023

Armanino LLP, a top 20 accounting and consulting firm in the United States, announced today that leading music business management team, Nashville-based Blue Sky Group, and music rights and royalty auditing firm, Royalty Compliance Organization (“RCO”), are joining Armanino effective April 1, 2023. The strategic additions of these two firms mark a major development that strengthens Armanino’s business management service offerings, broader tax and audit capabilities and gives Armanino a Nashville presence, which is the heart of the music industry. The Blue Sky Group with Harlan Hallet and Steven McMillan and RCO with Wayne Coleman and Darla Crain will integrate into Armanino bringing a wealth of talented entertainment business managers and audit experts in royalty compliance, valuation services, and litigation support capabilities that propel Armanino forward in delivering the preeminent entertainment and business management services. Unique to business management firms, Armanino will continue to provide robust day-to-day business management services along with deepened tax, audit, and other service offerings relevant to the needs of the entertainment industry and ultra-high net-worth clients, all with a white-glove approach focused on client success. "As far as industry-leading experts, we could not be more thrilled with the knowledge and talent that Blue Sky and RCO bring to our team, we know this will be incredibly valuable for our clients,” says Craig Manzino, Partner, Business Management at Armanino. “This will make Armanino one of the only business management groups in the world that will be able to offer the full slate of entertainment services while allowing us to deepen and expand our reach into Nashville, which we view as extremely important for our growth goals.” Armanino’s Business Management team, which serves some of the leading musicians, entertainers and music publishers among other clientele out of their New York City and Los Angeles offices, will now have an office in Nashville. Music City is the country’s fastest growing entertainment hotspot and an office in Nashville gives Armanino’s team and its clients the trifecta of office locations to serve the entertainment industry. “As the industry standard for royalty audit services, RCO is excited to join Armanino’s entertainment practice and tap into the synergies that our firms bring to the table,” says Wayne Coleman, Founder and CEO of Royalty Compliance Organization. Darla Crain, COO of RCO adds, “by combining forces, we will be able to better serve our clients while being able to bring best-in-class offerings to Armanino and Blue Sky’s client base.” “Blue Sky, RCO and Armanino share a common vision for the future of entertainment advice and business management service, and believe that we can evolve into the leading business management firm in the country,” says Harlan Hallet, Partner at Blue Sky. “By combining forces, we are only adding to an already successful business practice but now have the benefit of RCO’s capabilities and the leverage and resources of Armanino’s team. We see this as a major win for the entertainment industry as a whole.” The addition of these firms comes as the entertainment industry continues to show signs of growth and a greater need for royalty compliance and auditing. Armanino is well-placed to take advantage of this growth. With offices serving the entertainment industry now in three major US cities, clients can expect a high-quality service across all aspects of business management from Armanino. About Armanino LLP Armanino LLP is one of the 20 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. Armanino provides an integrated set of audit, tax, business management, consulting and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and globally. The firm helps clients adapt and change in every stage of business, from startup through rapid growth to the sale of a company. Armanino emphasizes smart technology, leading a cloud revolution of financial, operational, sales and compliance tools that are transforming the way companies do business. Armanino is an independent member firm of Moore North America Inc. (MNA), which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL), one of the world’s major accounting and consulting membership organizations. All the firms associated with MNA and MGNL are independent entities, owned and managed in each location. Their membership in, or association with, MNA or MGNL should not be construed as constituting or implying any partnership between them. In addition to its core consulting and accounting practices, Armanino operates its division, AMF Media Group (www.amfmediagroup.com), a media and communications services agency.

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TECHNOLOGIES, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Ant Media Integrates Zixi for Live Streaming

Zixi | February 10, 2023

Zixi, a software development company, has recently partnered with Ant Media, and Ant Media Server (AMS) has integrated Zixi's software-defined video platform (SDVP) for real-time live streaming. Using the Zixi protocol, AMS can connect to the vast broadcast-quality live sources and enhance stream resilience with aware routing and patented dynamic family entertainment centers (FEC), network utilization, bandwidth shaping, DTLS and AES content-encryption security, error-free video transfer over IP networks, less uptime, multicast transport, bandwidth efficiency, and encoder backpressure. It can also manage large-scale configurations and networking. AMS is a streaming engine that uses Zixi-enabled live sources and provides streaming with WebRTC technology and sub-0.5-second latency. Auto-scale clustering assists publishers and viewers on a larger scale, supporting a wide range of viewers and streams. Its users can publish AMS streams to the SDVP, utilizing workflow, GPU-accelerated live transcoding, hitless failover, bonding over disparate networks, purpose-built live operations dashboards, live channels' centralized management, and enhanced visualization. In addition, it delivers Zixi-protected streams through the WebRTC full-stack network, SFU, MCU, and Data Channel for global reach. CEO/Co-founder of Ant Media, Ahmet Oguz Mermerkaya, said, "With integrated Zixi Protocol support, Ant Media Servers have access to the industry-leading performance, efficiency, security, and reliability that the SDVP enables." He added, "By leveraging the combined AMS and SDVP solution, our common customers have access to high-performance, scalable real-time video distribution." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) Senior Vice President of Alliances and Marketing at Zixi, John Wastcoat, said, "This exciting integration was initially requested from a video game and Esports live streaming platforms." He added, "And Ant Media Server's WebRTC cutting-edge innovation delivers the infrastructure necessary for next-generation, mission-critical applications such as live game shows, e-learning, and mobile streaming." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Zixi Zixi, a cloud-driven solutions provider, has an on-premises software-defined video platform, enabling reliable broadcast video delivery over any IP network, protocol, cloud provider, and edge device. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, it has been offering technological services to mobile service providers, video providers, enterprises, and broadcasters worldwide. It specializes in the fields of live streaming, virtual content supply chain, glass-to-glass solutions, video distribution on a large scale, media processing, IP-based distribution, contribution at scale, forward error correction, OTT delivery, seamless failover, multi-path delivery, remote production solutions, live sports distribution, VOD delivery, broadcast solutions, and cloud services.

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TECHNOLOGIES, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Breezeline Offers Cloud-based, Integrated Streaming TV in Cleveland and Columbus

Breezeline | January 30, 2023

Breezeline, the eighth-largest cable operator in the U.S., has recently launched its brand-new cloud-based and integrated TV streaming in its service areas, Cleveland and Columbus (Ohio). Now, its customers can watch their favorite programs on any device they want! Using Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) technology, this cloud-based TV allows users to watch live and recorded TV on any device, whether they're at home or on the go. It will allow users to watch live TV, as well as record shows, watch programs on demand, and use streaming services. There are options to restart, rewind in real-time, and catch up. With Cloud DVR Max, one can record in high definition for up to almost 300 hours. By integrating Google Assistant, users can now use voice commands to do things like find or suggest a show, launch an app, or get the latest weather forecast. By late summer, all of its TV subscribers will have been migrated to the new system. It's open to new commercial and residential clients. Heather McCallion, Vice President, Products and Programming for Breezeline, said, “Since we acquired the Cleveland and Columbus operations, we’ve invested ten of millions of dollars into our network to improve reliability and performance. Now, we’re ready to deliver a powerful, versatile viewing experience on multiple devices inside and outside the home that is also incredibly simple to use.” (Source – Business Wire) About Breezeline Breezeline, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc., provides TV, video streaming, voice service, and internet networks to residential and business customers. It has its headquarters in Canada as well. It gives an updated entertainment experience with instant rewind, search, access to about 5,000 apps, cloud DVR storage, and many more features. In addition, it offers 100 Mbps to 1000 Mbps internet speed at a reasonable price according to the customer’s plans. Furthermore, it secures customers’ personal information and devices with WiFi Your Way™ Home, powered by Plume® HomePass. Its voice services include call waiting, 3-way calling, voicemail, and Breezeline Voice Manager.

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APPLICATIONS

Armanino Expands Entertainment Expertise with the Addition of Blue Sky Group and Royalty Compliance Organization

businesswire | March 24, 2023

Armanino LLP, a top 20 accounting and consulting firm in the United States, announced today that leading music business management team, Nashville-based Blue Sky Group, and music rights and royalty auditing firm, Royalty Compliance Organization (“RCO”), are joining Armanino effective April 1, 2023. The strategic additions of these two firms mark a major development that strengthens Armanino’s business management service offerings, broader tax and audit capabilities and gives Armanino a Nashville presence, which is the heart of the music industry. The Blue Sky Group with Harlan Hallet and Steven McMillan and RCO with Wayne Coleman and Darla Crain will integrate into Armanino bringing a wealth of talented entertainment business managers and audit experts in royalty compliance, valuation services, and litigation support capabilities that propel Armanino forward in delivering the preeminent entertainment and business management services. Unique to business management firms, Armanino will continue to provide robust day-to-day business management services along with deepened tax, audit, and other service offerings relevant to the needs of the entertainment industry and ultra-high net-worth clients, all with a white-glove approach focused on client success. "As far as industry-leading experts, we could not be more thrilled with the knowledge and talent that Blue Sky and RCO bring to our team, we know this will be incredibly valuable for our clients,” says Craig Manzino, Partner, Business Management at Armanino. “This will make Armanino one of the only business management groups in the world that will be able to offer the full slate of entertainment services while allowing us to deepen and expand our reach into Nashville, which we view as extremely important for our growth goals.” Armanino’s Business Management team, which serves some of the leading musicians, entertainers and music publishers among other clientele out of their New York City and Los Angeles offices, will now have an office in Nashville. Music City is the country’s fastest growing entertainment hotspot and an office in Nashville gives Armanino’s team and its clients the trifecta of office locations to serve the entertainment industry. “As the industry standard for royalty audit services, RCO is excited to join Armanino’s entertainment practice and tap into the synergies that our firms bring to the table,” says Wayne Coleman, Founder and CEO of Royalty Compliance Organization. Darla Crain, COO of RCO adds, “by combining forces, we will be able to better serve our clients while being able to bring best-in-class offerings to Armanino and Blue Sky’s client base.” “Blue Sky, RCO and Armanino share a common vision for the future of entertainment advice and business management service, and believe that we can evolve into the leading business management firm in the country,” says Harlan Hallet, Partner at Blue Sky. “By combining forces, we are only adding to an already successful business practice but now have the benefit of RCO’s capabilities and the leverage and resources of Armanino’s team. We see this as a major win for the entertainment industry as a whole.” The addition of these firms comes as the entertainment industry continues to show signs of growth and a greater need for royalty compliance and auditing. Armanino is well-placed to take advantage of this growth. With offices serving the entertainment industry now in three major US cities, clients can expect a high-quality service across all aspects of business management from Armanino. About Armanino LLP Armanino LLP is one of the 20 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. Armanino provides an integrated set of audit, tax, business management, consulting and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and globally. The firm helps clients adapt and change in every stage of business, from startup through rapid growth to the sale of a company. Armanino emphasizes smart technology, leading a cloud revolution of financial, operational, sales and compliance tools that are transforming the way companies do business. Armanino is an independent member firm of Moore North America Inc. (MNA), which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL), one of the world’s major accounting and consulting membership organizations. All the firms associated with MNA and MGNL are independent entities, owned and managed in each location. Their membership in, or association with, MNA or MGNL should not be construed as constituting or implying any partnership between them. In addition to its core consulting and accounting practices, Armanino operates its division, AMF Media Group (www.amfmediagroup.com), a media and communications services agency.

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