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 instantly publicly traded. As an alternative it’s an essential (and more and more worthwhile) subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Sony Company, which additionally performs dwelling to PlayStation, Sony Footage, 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 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 ability steadiness between artists and labels within the file enterprise, plus the position of TikTok… and the way a lot it pays rightsholders for using their music.
You’ll be able to watch Stringer and Shaw’s dialogue beneath, 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 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 accordance with 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 taking part in different revenue streams.
Stringer was requested why Sony has been so lively in shopping for these catalogs and to clarify 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 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 mentioned.
“Utilizing the fashionable artwork idea, I believe this music is priceless.”
Rob Stringer
Stringer additionally confirmed that Sony “purchased identify 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” introduced by proudly owning the NIL rights.
Experiential occasions utilizing the likeness and music of celebrity artists may be very large enterprise. Simply a few weeks in the past, we realized that the ABBA Voyage digital expertise in London generated over $129 million in 2023.
Legendary rock band KISS lately offered their music catalog, plus identify, picture and likeness rights — together with their face paint designs — to music funding agency Pophouse Leisure (the corporate behind ABBA Voyage) and in addition plan to launch a digital live performance sequence that includes digital variations of themselves.
May we see an analogous 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 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 when you take a look at the dynamics of {the marketplace}, it implies that the proportion of individuals listening to older music is far larger. 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 large cash catalog offers, together with Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Queen and Bob Dylan.
“Now we have lots of inventive understanding and we’ve lots of experience on the construction of these artists’ careers,” he mentioned.
“In order that they felt like a very good match. And fairly frankly, I didn’t need any of these artists to go wherever else.”
Credit score: izzuanroslan/Shutterstock
2) The music rights trade allowed TikTok to ‘develop into MTV’
The music trade’s relationship with TikTok is commonly harmonious, but typically fractious.
The argument that music has performed a key position in TikTok’s development has led some within the trade to query whether or not artists, songwriters, and file labels are adequately remunerated for using music on its platform.
In the beginning 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 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 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 controversy on that might be: Did we begin off with TikTok on the precise word, and did we enable them to develop into what they suppose they’re, which is a promotional platform? And we in all probability 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 needs to be paying extra to the music trade, nevertheless.
He added: “The reality is, we should 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 be sure 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 mum or dad 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 Footage.
“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 somewhat bit annoying [for the media].
“We will signal large 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 whenever you’re doing my job, shouldn’t be a horrible factor.”
Rob Stringer
Stringer additionally commented on how “powerful” it should be, to be the chief of a publicly traded music firm like Common or Warner.
“I believe it’s powerful 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 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 buyers each three months and it’s important 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 somewhat bit extra.
I believe that [being] backstage whenever you’re doing all your job shouldn’t 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 usually higher.”
4) The facility 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” consists of “dwell, merch, branding… there’s lots of streams now of the music enterprise which can 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 have been passport management for artists. So we had much more energy,” Stringer mentioned.
Nonetheless, Stringer says he doesn’t thoughts that file corporations have relinquished their “passport management” credentials.
“I’ve been very snug with that,” he mentioned. “I needed to be the artist accomplice, I by no means needed to be a cigar-smoking fats cat!”Music Enterprise Worldwide
