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How do you put a price on a music catalog? For a number of artists, this question has become increasingly pertinent as companies have been busy gobbling up musicians&#39; catalogs by the portion or swallowing them completely.

How Much Did Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan And Other Legends Sell Their Music Catalogs For?

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KKR &amp; Co Inc (NYSE: KKR) has offered to acquire Telecom Italia SpA (OTC: TIIAY) for €10.8 billion ($12 billion), including €29 billion in gross debt, 

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How do you put a price on a music catalog? For a number of&nbsp;artists, this question has become increasingly pertinent as companies have been busy gobbling up musicians&#39; catalogs by the portion or swallowing them completely.
There are different levels of selling musical rights, such as publishing and recording, which can be sold separately. Musicians can get the short end of a deal.
One of the most famous was in 1985 when Michael Jackson bought most of The Beatles publishing rights for $47 million, outbidding Paul McCartney. Jackson ended up using the catalog to remain solvent via loans and in 2008 had to give up the remaining interest in it to Sony Group Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sony#NYSE">SONY</a>), which took full control of it. In 2018, McCartney sued Sony and won back the rights to 32 Beatles songs.
Taylor Swift and The Beach Boys are among the many musicians who had their music rights sold without input or profit. Here are five musicians who have sold their music catalogs in the last year or so.
<ul>
<li>Bruce Springsteen</li>
<li>$500 million</li>
</ul>
In December&nbsp;2021, &quot;The Boss&quot; sold his music catalog to Sony Music Entertainment, part&nbsp;of Sony Group, <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/m-a/21/12/24638221/sony-scoops-bruce-springsteens-catalog-for-500m-report">for $500 million</a>. So, the next time you hear &quot;Born to Run&quot; or another Springsteen song, the royalties go to Sony and nothing to Springsteen.
According to the New York Times, it &quot;may well be the biggest transaction ever struck for a single artist&#39;s body of work.&quot;
<ul>
<li>Bob Dylan</li>
<li>$300-$400 million&nbsp;or more</li>
</ul>
What has 600 copyrights, including &quot;Like A Rolling Stone&quot; and &quot;All Along the Watchtower&quot;? Bob Dylan&#39;s catalog, spanning almost 60 years.
In December 2020, Universal Music Publishing Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi SE (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>), <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/20/12/18673902/changing-of-the-guard-bob-dylan-sells-music-library-to-universal">purchased</a> 100 % of all of the songs in Dylan&#39;s&nbsp;catalog, including the income from his songwriting and copyright. The deal&nbsp;also includes the portion of songs he co-wrote with other musicians. The caveats? It does not include Dylan&#39;s unreleased songs or what he writes in the future.
For how much? The final number is, as they say, is blowing in the wind: Most sources say $300 million.
<ul>
<li>David Bowie</li>
<li>More than $250 million</li>
</ul>
The sale of David Bowie&#39;s publishing catalog was announced Tuesday to Warner Chappell Music, which is owned by Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wmg#NASDAQ">WMG</a>). According to Variety, the catalog spans six decades and includes 26 albums with songs such as &quot;Heroes,&quot; and &quot;Fame,&quot; though a few songs and albums recorded pre-1968 were not included in the deal.
This means that Warner now controls all of Bowie&#39;s rights; in <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/21/09/22975231/david-bowie-estate-signs-catalogue-deal-with-warner-music-here-are-the-starmans-best-selling-albums">September 2021,</a> the company purchased the global rights to the artist&#39;s catalog from 1968 through 2016.
<ul>
<li>Neil Young</li>
<li>About $150 million</li>
</ul>
It was announced on Jan. 5 that Neil Young made a deal with Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a U.K. investment group, for 50% of worldwide copyrights and income from the 1,180 songs composed by Young.
Hipgonsis, founded by Merck Mercuriadis, has been on a bit of a buying streak lately: it has purchased the publishing rights of Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac and Shakira, among others, reported Rolling Stone.
Young has very famously not licensed any of his songs and while full terms of the deal have not been disclosed, Mercuriadis promises that they won&#39;t end in a McDonald&#39;s commercial.
<ul>
<li>Stevie Nicks</li>
<li>About $80 million</li>
</ul>
Coming to fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks also proved to be a force as a solo artist. In December&nbsp;2020, Nicks sold a majority stake &mdash; 80% &mdash; in copyrights, valued at $100 million, to Primary Wave Music, which also bought the publishing rights of Bob Marley.
Nicks will remain involved working with Primary Waves to partner on marketing, branding and digital strategies to generate more revenue from her catalog, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaynekaye/8224106702/in/photolist-dwJGp9-d5ypkq-8B8tKy-8B8trA-8B5n8n-8B5nqX-8B8tDu-c14biy-d5yoV5-d5you9-d5yo9J-d5yo1N-d5yoBE-d5ypaN-d5yokU-d5yp33-d5yoLL-cr5Es3-2ata3TQ-cxbHq5-6tiw8C-TUVeQn-Ro2AM6-2f4JkEL-HyuyZ2-HfpGHf-56KLLU-5WSRh3-5NKvVY-Ro2AFV-Ro2ACZ-2e3usqJ-2f4JkDo-2f4JkRN-Ro2AJa-Ro2AyR-Ro2AQn-2f4JkPy-2f4JkGu-Ro2zwv-2f4JkJd-2e3usrq-Ro2AwM-2f4JkKW-GoVsc5-HdooMv-6v7yR4-4TFfii-eD4g1G-5rGWpc">Shayne Kaye</a> via <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">Flickr</a>

<ul>
<li>Jack Tretton, the former CEO of&nbsp;Sony Group Corp&#39;s&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sony#NYSE">SONY</a>) Sony Computer Entertainment America,&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1847345/000110465921154391/tm219697d5_s1.htm#s1_013" style="background-image:initial; background-position:initial; background-size:initial; background-repeat:initial; background-attachment:initial; background-origin:initial; background-clip:initial; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; color:#4a6ee0" target="_blank">led a $225 million</a>&nbsp;special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) pursuing a deal in the video game industry.</li>
<li>Tretton is known for making the PlayStation a popular gaming console.</li>
<li>Tretton is now the CEO of PowerUp Acquisition Corp.</li>
<li>PowerUp looks to acquire a company in the interactive media space that focuses on video games but is open to choosing a company in any industry.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Bruce Hack serves as PowerUp&#39;s Executive Chairman. Hack was a director then chairman of Technicolor SA from 2010 to 2019. Hack has held the roles of&nbsp;Vivendi SE&nbsp;(OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivhy#OTC">VIVHY</a>), Vivendi Games&#39; CEO, and&nbsp;Activision Blizzard Inc&nbsp;(NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/atvi#NASDAQ">ATVI</a>) Vice Chairman.</li>
<li>Price Action:&nbsp;SONY shares traded lower by 0.39% at $125.43 in the premarket session on the last check Friday.</li>
</ul>

KKR &amp; Co Inc&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/kkr#NYSE">KKR</a>) has offered to acquire&nbsp;Telecom Italia SpA&nbsp;(OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tiiay#OTC">TIIAY</a>) for &euro;10.8 billion ($12 billion), including &euro;29 billion in gross debt,&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/telecom-italia-board-meet-sunday-kkrs-takeover-proposal-sources-2021-11-21/" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">Reuters reports</a>. The purchase price of &euro;0.505 implies a 45.7% premium to Telecom Italia&#39;s November 19 closing price.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>KKR aims to carve out Telecom Italia&#39;s fixed network to run as a government-regulated asset along the model used by energy grid company&nbsp;Terna Energy SA&nbsp;(OTC:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/treay#OTC" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">TREAY</a>) or gas grid firm&nbsp;Snam SpA&nbsp;(OTC:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/snmry#OTC" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">SNMRY</a>).</li>
<li>Italy&#39;s biggest phone group came under fire from top investor&nbsp;Vivendi SE&nbsp;(OTC:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">VIVEF</a>) following two profit warnings in three months, charging CEO Luigi Gubitosi.</li>
<li>Telecom Italia&#39;s revenue has shrunk by a fifth over the past five years, hit by aggressive competition from rivals like&nbsp;Iliad SA&nbsp;(OTC:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/iliay#OTC" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">ILIAY</a>),&nbsp;Vodafone Group PLC&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vod#NASDAQ" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">VOD</a>), Wind Tre, and Fastweb.</li>
<li>Gubitosi is exploring options to squeeze money out of Telecom Italia&#39;s assets, particularly planning to merge its fixed-line grid with fiber optic rival Open Fiber.</li>
<li>Telecom Italia observed that KKR had termed its action as &quot;friendly&quot; and aimed to win the company&#39;s backing and the government.</li>
<li>Price Action:&nbsp;TIIAY shares traded higher by 3030.1010% at $5 in the market session on the last check Monday.</li>
</ul>

Universal Music Group has bought Bob Dylan&#39;s music catalog, which includes more than 600 songs from a nearly six-decade-long career.
What Happened: Universal Music Group&#39;s music publishing arm acquired Bob Dylan&#39;s catalog of songs spanning his more than six-decade-long career, Universal said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universal-music-publishing-group-acquires-bob-dylans-entire-catalog-of-songs-301187024.html">press release.</a>
Dylan is &quot;one of our culture&#39;s most influential and groundbreaking artists&quot; and has sold more than 125 million records throughout his career, the entertainment company said.&nbsp;
Universal Music Group is a subsidiary of Vivendi (Pink: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) and is among the big three&nbsp;music record labels, along with Sony&#39;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sne#NYSE">SNE</a>) Sony Music and AT&amp;T&#39;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/t#NYSE">T</a>) Warner Music Group.
Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 for &quot;having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.&quot;
Dylan continued to traverse the globe with his &quot;Never Ending Tour&quot; until the coronavirus pandemic struck, and a&nbsp;concert on April 19, 2019&nbsp;in Austria marked his 3,000th performance since 1988.&nbsp;
Related Link: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/m-a/20/11/18303596/spotify-to-acquire-podcast-hosting-company-megaphone-for-235m">Spotify To Acquire Podcast Hosting Company Megaphone For $235M</a>
Why It&#39;s Important:&nbsp;Universal&#39;s press release didn&#39;t include any financial details of the transaction.
&quot;It is no exaggeration to say that his vast body of work has captured the love and admiration of billions of people all around the world,&quot; Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said in the press release.
&quot;I have no doubt that decades, even centuries from now, the words and music of Bob Dylan will continue to be sung and played &mdash; and cherished &mdash; everywhere.&quot;
What&#39;s Next: Universal said it will work with Dylan and his team to make sure his &quot;artistry continues to reach and inspire generations of fans, recording artists and songwriters around the world,&quot; said Jody Gerson, UMPG chairman and&nbsp;CEO.&nbsp;
Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DesertTrip2016-28_(29685325714).jpg">Raph_PH via Wikimedia</a>.&nbsp;

Contracts

Asset Sales

Changing Of The Guard: Bob Dylan Sells Music Library To Universal

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) CEO Jeff Bezos is being criticized for not acting on unlicensed songs on subsidiary streaming platform Twitch, even&nbsp;as music rights holders&nbsp;issue &ldquo;takedown notices,&rdquo; the Financial Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7fe6f909-7a9f-4ca6-8c04-288065d1af8f">reported</a> Monday.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
The Artists Rights Alliance is stepping up the heat on Bezos and demanding the executive provide&nbsp;a &ldquo;public answer &mdash;&rdquo;&nbsp;going beyond the &ldquo;minimal and adequate&rdquo; efforts made by Twitch, as per a draft letter seen by the Financial Times.
&ldquo;As Twitch uses music to grow its audience and shape its brand, the company owes creators more than the wilful blindness and vague platitudes you offered,&rdquo; the draft letter said.
Amazon purchased Twitch in 2014 for $970 million and it has since then emerged as a broad platform with nearly four million creators streaming content. The platform has seen further growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
<h3>Why It Matters</h3>
Music rights holders have issued large amounts of takedown notices and made 2,500 claims surrounding improper use of licensed music on Twitch, the Financial Times noted.
Bezos was asked by Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong at a <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/20/08/17004392/music-rights-holders-bemoan-jeff-bezos-wilful-blindness-over-unlicensed-songs-on-twitch">house hearing</a> last month whether Twitch allows users to stream music but does not license it. The chief executive replied, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; with a promise to check later.
Twitch reportedly relies upon a &ldquo;safe harbor&rdquo; provision in the United States&nbsp;law to limit liability over the content on its platform as long as it complies with takedown requests in a timely fashion, a strategy also followed by Alphabet Inc&rsquo;s (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/googl#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>) (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) video streaming website YouTube.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/fb#NASDAQ">FB</a>) last month concluded a <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/20/07/16867669/facebook-completes-deal-with-three-major-music-labels-to-stream-official-music-videos-bloomberg">deal with three large music companies</a> &mdash; Vivendi SA (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>)-owned Universal Music Group, Sony Corporation&rsquo;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sne#NYSE">SNE</a>) Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wmg#NASDAQ">WMG</a>) &mdash; that would allow it to stream music, according to Bloomberg.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Price Action&nbsp;</h3>
Amazon shares closed nearly 1.8% lower at $3,167.46 on Friday.
Photo courtesy: Seattle City Council on Flickr

AMZN

GOOG

GOOGL

Jeff Bezos Turning Blind Eye Towards Unlicensed Songs On Twitch, Music Labels, Artists Allege

Snap Inc&rsquo;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/snap#NYSE">SNAP</a>) messaging app Snapchat is planning to release a feature this fall that will allow users to set their Snaps to background music, something which TikTok users can do at present, TechCrunch&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/03/snapchat-to-take-on-tiktok-with-a-new-music-powered-featuring-rolling-out-this-fall/">reported</a>&nbsp;Monday.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
The feature is likely to provide users with a similar experience to ByteDance&rsquo;s short-form video app TikTok.
Users will be able to add music from Snap&rsquo;s partners such as Warner Music Group Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wmg#NASDAQ">WMG</a>), Vivendi SA (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>)-owned Universal Music Publishing Group, and the National Music Publishers&#39; Association members.
Snapchat is anticipated&nbsp;to offer users the ability to listen to the full track on music streaming platforms like Spotify Technologies SA&rsquo;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/spot#NYSE">SPOT</a>) Spotify, Apple Inc&rsquo;s (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aaple#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) Apple Music or SoundCloud, TechCrunch,&nbsp;noted. TikTok only lets users hear a snippet.
<h3>Why It Matters</h3>
Snapchat is <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/20/07/16611235/snapchat-is-testing-a-tiktok-like-user-experience-for-public-content">testing</a> the feature at a time when TikTok is under scrutiny in the United States over privacy violation and is under threat of being banned.&nbsp;
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>) is in <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/government/20/08/16890815/microsoft-says-looking-to-wrap-up-tiktok-purchase-talks-by-sept-15-after-ceos-conversation-with-trum">discussions</a> with TikTok&rsquo;s owners to buy the app in the US and three other countries, which are expected to conclude by&nbsp;September 15.
Meanwhile,&nbsp;Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/fb#NASDAQ">FB</a>) is <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/government/20/07/16821152/facebook-offering-substantial-financial-incentives-to-bring-tiktok-talent-on-its-instagram-reels-pla">offering incentives</a> to TikTok creators to draw them to its Instagram Reels service, which also is built similarly to the Chinese app.
<h3>Price Action&nbsp;</h3>
Snap shares traded 0.5% lower at $21.11 in the pre-market session Tuesday.

AAPLE

MSFT

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SPOT

Snapchat Plans To Add TikTok-Like Music Features By Fall This Year

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/fb#NASDAQ">FB</a>) has completed deals&nbsp;with three large music companies for the right to stream music videos on its social media platform, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-31/facebook-is-set-to-finally-get-the-rights-to-show-music-videos?utm_content=tech&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&amp;cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-tech&amp;sref=XoUMza3N">reported</a> late Thursday.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
The Mark Zuckerberg-led company&rsquo;s partnerships with Vivendi SA-owned (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) Universal Music Group, Sony Corporation&rsquo;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sne#NYSE">SNE</a>) Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wmg#NASDAQ">WMG</a>) are likely to be announced soon, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Facebook approached artists and music companies about obtaining exclusive rights to music videos, even if just&nbsp;temporarily, and was also amenable to pay for costs of production in certain cases, the Bloomberg sources said.
The social media company has reportedly promised the artists and music companies&nbsp;that&nbsp;such videos would also be promoted on the platform.
<h3>Why It Matters</h3>
The Menlo Park, California-based&nbsp;company&nbsp;on Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/20/07/16859861/facebook-surges-after-big-q2-earnings-beat-12-user-growth">posted</a>&nbsp;an earnings per share of $1.80, with total revenue of $18.69 billion, for its second-quarter this year.&nbsp;The numbers beat analysts&rsquo; expectations of $1.39 EPS and $17.4 billion revenue.
Zuckerberg said during the earnings call that the platform is trying to expand into video features so as to build a &ldquo;community&rdquo; of fans. He added that it&rsquo;s &ldquo;something that is just a lot harder to do on a YouTube or a Twitch or other products like that,&rdquo; Bloomberg reported.
Facebook has&nbsp;reportedly entered into partnerships for rights to use&nbsp;audio before, but has never struck similar deals for video. Video advertising is said to be a lot more profitable than other forms, Bloomberg noted.
Alphabet Inc&rsquo;s (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/googl#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>) (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) video streaming portal YouTube currently&nbsp;accounts for 46% of all music streaming listening time globally &mdash; excluding China, according to industry information portal Music Business Worldwide.
Facebook was previously reported to be looking to <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/20/07/16623700/facebook-to-stream-official-music-videos-from-next-month-in-a-challenge-to-youtube-report">start streaming</a> officially licensed music videos by August.
<h3>Price Action&nbsp;</h3>
Facebook shares traded 5.5% higher at $247.50 in the pre-market session Thursday.

Rumors

Facebook Completes Deal With Three Major Music Labels To Stream Official Music Videos: Bloomberg

Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/spot#NYSE">SPOT</a>) has signed a new licensing deal with Vivendi SA&rsquo;s (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivhy#OTC">VIVHY</a>) Universal Music Group, which will give it access to the music company&rsquo;s catalog for streaming, the Wall Street Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/spotify-strikes-new-licensing-deal-with-universal-music-group-11595415603">reported</a>&nbsp;Wednesday.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
Universal also signed up for the streaming service&rsquo;s &ldquo;two-sided marketplace,&rdquo; where it will pay for marketing, data, and analytics. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The partnership will involve Universal testing and developing tools as well as servicing and marketing products that the Swedish company hopes both artists and music companies will buy.
&ldquo;Our plan is to be chief experimental officer,&rdquo; Universal CEO Lucian Grainge&nbsp;said on the deal.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll take this experimentation and really drive it forward now with what we know about consumers and what we know about each other&rsquo;s data.&rdquo;
Talks between the music industry constituents and Spotify can take years and the companies had first discussed the so-called two-sided marketplace ahead of Spotify going public in 2018, the Journal noted.
<h3>Why It Matters</h3>
Universal holds a 40% market share in recorded music in the United States.
The deal with the music company comes at a time when the Stockholm-based Spotify is <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/20/07/16662219/spotify-expands-to-13-european-markets-including-russia">entering</a> new markets in Russia and 12 other Eastern European nations. The music streamer would hope to attract new talent from these regions,&nbsp;many of which belong to Universal&rsquo;s labels, to its platform, according to the Journal.&nbsp;
Spotify is also said to be under pressure from investors to pursue profitability, but the company says it continues to prioritize investing&nbsp;in growth.
<h3>Price Action&nbsp;</h3>
Spotify shares closed 4.8% higher at $289.62 on Wednesday and fell 0.4% in the after-hours. On the same day, Vivendi OTC shares closed 0.5% lower at $27.45.

Global

Spotify, Universal Music To Collaborate On Former's Long-Touted Marketing Tools As Part Of New Licensing Deal

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/fb#NASDAQ">FB</a>) is reportedly set to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/14/facebook-to-launch-officially-licensed-music-videos-in-the-u-s-next-month/">introduce</a> officially licensed music videos on its social networking platform in the United States, posing a potential challenge to Alphabet Inc&rsquo;s (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/googl#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>) (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) video streaming subsidiary YouTube LLC.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
The San Francisco-based company is scheduled to debut licensed music videos next month, TechCrunch reported Tuesday.
Facebook has set an August 1 deadline for video submissions, failing which it would create a page on its own for the videos, according to the material reviewed by TechCrunch.
Artists are not required to add their videos manually. Instead, they can enable a new setting that will give Facebook permission to add their music videos to respective Pages, which fans can access by clicking on the Page&rsquo;s Videos tab.
An excerpt from an email explaining how music videos will be shared on Facebook leaked on social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Facebook to launch a official Music Videos feature for artists to rival YouTube?
h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/seaninsound?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@seaninsound</a> <a href="https://t.co/U9Hs9gHcbr">pic.twitter.com/U9Hs9gHcbr</a>
&mdash; Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1282988346357223424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Artists cannot fully share their music videos on Facebook at the moment due to licensing rights but can publish short previews.
<h3>Why It Matters</h3>
Music Business Worldwide (MBW), an industry information portal, citing a report by Swiss non-profit organization IFPI, stated that YouTube accounts for 46% of all music streaming <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/more-music-is-played-on-youtube-than-on-spotify-apple-music-and-every-audio-streaming-platform-combined/">listening time</a> globally &mdash; excluding China.&nbsp;
The San Francisco-based company <a href="https://youtube.googleblog.com/2020/02/youtube-at-15-my-personal-journey.html">claims</a> to have paid out more than $3 billion to the music industry in 2019 from ads and subscriptions.
Facebook was reported to be pursuing <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-19/facebook-pursues-music-video-rights-in-challenge-to-youtube?sref=XoUMza3N">deals</a> for rights to music videos with major music labels such as Vivendi SA-owned (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) Universal Music Group, Sony Corporation&rsquo;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sne#NYSE">SNE</a>) Sony Music, and Warner Music Group Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wmg#NASDAQ">WMG</a>) last year.
<h3>Price Action&nbsp;</h3>
Facebook shares traded 0.4% higher at $240.75 in the pre-market session on Wednesday.

TCEHY

Facebook To Stream Official Music Videos From Next Month, In A Challenge To YouTube: Report

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Stocks That Hit 52-Week Lows On Friday

Disney+, the video streaming service of Walt Disney Co&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/dis#NYSE">DIS</a>), will make its debut in France by March next year, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-media-canal-disney/disney-to-debut-late-march-in-france-in-exclusive-deal-with-canal-idUSKBN1YJ0O5">reported</a> on Sunday.
The streaming service will be available on French media giant Vivendi SA&#39;s (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) Canal+ television channel.
&quot;This exclusive partnership is a new major step in the transformation of the Canal+ model,&quot; Maxime Saada, the Chief Executive Officer of the channel said, according to Reuters.
The partnership comes at a time when Vivendi is facing increased competition from California-based Netflix Inc.&#39;s (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nflx#NASDAQ">NFLX</a>) streaming platform.
In February, Netflix said that it had five million subscribers in the country, above that of Canal+&#39;s 4.76 million subscribers, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-netflix/netflix-has-more-than-5-million-subscribers-in-france-idUSKCN1Q21RL">reported</a> at the time.
Disney+ launched in the U.S. in November, with reports of technical glitches and <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/19/11/14836417/disney-accounts-reportedly-hacked-sold-on-the-dark-web">account breaches</a> surrounding it from the first hour of its existence.
<h3>Price Action</h3>
Disney&#39;s shares closed 0.34% lower at $146.38 on Friday. Rival Netflix&#39;s shares closed 0.020% higher at $298.50.

General

NFLX

Disney+ To Make Debut In France In March

<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/19/08/14184003/developing-a-vocabulary-that-will-be-understood-the-havas-approach-to-cannabis-marketing">Havas ECS</a>, the endocannabinoid consultancy firm that&rsquo;s a subsidiary of international advertising and public relations company Havas Group (owned by Vivendi SA&nbsp;(OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>)), last week announced the launch of a full spectrum education program for the medical and legal communities, aimed at filling the gap of misinformation that exists between cannabis science, legislation, and the medical communities nationwide.
The program will be called &ldquo;Medical Cannabis; The science.The research. The risks.&rdquo;, and it will kick-off with a conference in collaboration with the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine (AJEM), on Nov.&nbsp;15&nbsp;in New York.
Rob Dhoble, Managing Director of Havas ECS told Benzinga in a phone conversation that New York was chosen because of recent decriminalization policies, and also because it&rsquo;s where both the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine and Dr. Jahan Marcu -the Journal&rsquo;s editor- reside.
<a href="http://benzingacannabisconference.com/">Click here</a> for more information about the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Oct. 22-23 in Chicago.
Adding to Dr. Marcu, the list of speakers will include Phillipe Lucas, VP Patient Research and Access at Tilray, Dr. Margaret Haney, Professor of Neurobiology (in Psychiatry) Columbia University Medical Center, Lauren Rudick and Attorney at Hiller PC New York, Member of the National Cannabis Bar Association, among others.
&ldquo;We wanted to start first with New York, specially given the jeopardy that many doctors feel they are in, now that marijuana is decriminalized. Doctors have a new responsibility to incorporate medical knowledge, especially with interactions with other medicine.&rdquo; said Dhoble.
Havas ECS, a division of Havas Health &amp; You, stated in a press release the only 13% of medical schools offer any instructional material on the human endocannabinoid system. The conference will be focused on the science of the endocannabinoid system, drug and disease interactions and risks, uses, and delivery systems, and will include a mock trial in which the medical audience will act as jury for a real-life legal scenario including a doctor, patient, a cannabis product, and a fatal accident.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve secured what we believe to be the deepest available subject matter experts in the world and look forward to offering global programs to help support various regions and specialties world-wide get an understanding of the new cannabis paradigm with accuracy and science,&quot; said&nbsp;Dhoble, who told Benzinga Havas will hold multiple conferences like this one next year, placing special emphasis on oncology and cannabinoids.
Don&rsquo;t miss out on the top cannabis stories of the day. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/cannabis/newsletter/">Click here</a> to sign up for our daily insider newsletter.

Cannabis

Havas ECS Launches Medical Education Program Focused On Cannabis Science, Law

Chinese entertainment conglomerate Tencent Holdings&nbsp;(OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tcehy#OTC">TCEHY</a>) is attempting to take a stake in Universal Music Group, the record label giant that owns the rights to artists such as The Beatles, Ariana Grande, Queen and Drake.&nbsp;
<h3>What Happened</h3>
Tencent is looking to buy a 10% stake in Universal Music from Vivendi SA (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) for around 3 billion euros ($3.36 billion), <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tencent-in-talks-to-buy-stake-in-universal-music-group-11565078272?mod=hp_lead_pos5">The Wall Street Journal reported</a>&nbsp;Tuesday.
Tencent is looking to increase its exposure to the global music industry at a time when Chinese consumers are showing a willingness to pay for streaming music platforms, the Journal said.&nbsp;
Tencent extending its reach into American media and entertainment isn&#39;t a new phenomenon. The company&#39;s movie production unit Tencent Pictures is behind multiple high-profile&nbsp;movies, including the soon to be released &quot;Terminator: Dark Fate.&quot;
Tencent also owns a stake in streaming music company Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/spot#NYSE">SPOT</a>).
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Tencent&#39;s stake in one of the major music labels would offer the Chinese company an inside look into how the industry is developing, WSJ quoted&nbsp;analysts&nbsp;as saying.
This could help Tencent fend off&nbsp;rival TikTok app owner Bytedance from winning music licensing deals.
&quot;If there is anything that can create pressure on TikTok, it&#39;s music,&quot; Shawn Yang, managing director of research firm Blue Lotus, told WSJ. &quot;It still relies heavily on music copyright.&quot;
As part of the agreement, Tencent would hold&nbsp;the right to buy another 10% stake in Universal at the same terms within one year.
Related Links:
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/19/07/14150455/nba-expands-deal-with-chinas-tencent">NBA Expands Deal With China&#39;s Tencent</a>
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/price-target/19/08/14185689/investors-analysts-still-tuned-in-to-spotify">Investors, Analysts Still Tuned In To Spotify</a>

Come Together: China's Tencent Negotiating For Stake In Beatles Catalog Owner Universal Music

The international advertising and public relations company Havas Group, which is majority-owned by Vivendi SA (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivef#OTC">VIVEF</a>) (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivhy#OTC">VIVHY</a>), has launched a cannabis consultancy firm:&nbsp;<a href="http://havasecs.com">Havas ECS</a>.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
The multi-office venture aims to become a &ldquo;specialized strategic communications advisory and education company focused on the importance and value of scientific knowledge on the endocannabinoid system,&quot; according to Havas &mdash; hence the acronym ECS.
Havas said it&#39;s a first in the business of medical cannabis consultancy and a means of filling the wide misinformation gap that stands between consumers and cannabis products.
The company expects to educate consumers, medical professionals and companies on the science behind cannabinoids and the ECS in order to give way to more responsible practices within the entire cannabis value chain.
Benzinga&#39;s Cannabis Capital Conference heads to Detroit on Aug. 15 &mdash; <a href="https://benzingacannabisconference.com/detroit/">click here to learn more</a>!
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Havas is placing special emphasis on the risks behind consumer self-medication and the lack of cannabis expertise from medical professionals today.
It&rsquo;s also expecting to become a major advisor for companies who aim to include cannabinoids in their products, but lack proper knowledge on how to do it safely and effectively.
The firm, which is expected to bring in $10 million in just its first year, will become active immediately, lead by Rob Dhoble, who comes from a health care communications background.
In an email, Dhoble told Benzinga, &quot;The lack of opportunities for the medical community to learn about cannabinoid use is not only a concern, but it puts doctors in legal jeopardy. Legal risks, including risks related to unmanaged treatment regimens, drug interactions, and diminished treatment outcomes, exist for providers that do not clearly communicate with their cannabis consuming patients.&quot;
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
The company said it has opened offices in New York and New Jersey and is planning to host its first educational conference this fall.
Over-the-counter Vivendi shares were down 0.57% at $27.87 at the close Tuesday.
Never miss a news story in the cannabis world. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/cannabis/">Click here</a> to check out Benzinga Cannabis for more.

This Multibillion-Dollar Ad Agency Is Launching A Cannabis Consultancy Firm

Vivendi SA is currently trying to find a buyer for its $8.1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/atvi#NASDAQ">ATVI</a>). Interest is lukewarm, according to <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-13/vivendi-s-search-for-activision-suitors-off-to-slow-start">Bloomberg</a>. The company's Chairman, Jean-Rene Fourtou said in an interview at the Allen &amp; Co. media conference being held in Sun Valley, Idaho that Vivendi is considering selling its 61 percent stake in the video-game publisher. 

According to Bloomberg sources, both Microsoft (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>) and Disney (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dis#NYSE">DIS</a>) turned down overtures to purchase Activision. When asked about a potential sale, Fourtou said that "It's a possibility" and replied to a question about whether he was looking for a suitor at the conference by saying “We're always looking at opportunities for all of our businesses.” 

According to a Wedbush analyst interviewed by Bloomberg, the Allen &amp; Co. conference, which is attended by some of the world's most prominent titans of industry, is the best place to try to make a deal for Activision. While Activision is the world's largest video-game publisher, and has had a number of huge hits in recent years, the company's long-term model is under pressure as games move online. Over the last year, Activision shares are up a little less than 2%, compared to a gain of more than 9% for the Nasdaq 100. 

Despite its prominent position in its industry, a deal for Activision may be tough to swing. For one, Vivendi's stake is large. At $8.1 billion, how many media or technology companies could afford it? Not many. An even bigger problem is that the video-game publishing niche would be considered a non-core business for most of the companies who could do a deal. 

Bloomberg reported that Disney and Microsoft don't seem very interested, and that Vivendi approached Asian companies Tencent Holdings (PINK: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/stock/tcehy">TCEHY</a>) and Nexon. These two potential buyers, though, don't have the cash to do the deal -- sources disclosed that Vivendi is looking for a cash transaction. These sources also told Bloomberg that the company will discuss its strategy in more detail when it reports earnings on August 30. 

If a deal can't be done, another potential option would be a public stock sale, which would very likely weigh on Activision shares. Selling shares to the public is an alternative that Activision's management would likely find unfavorable. Instead, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia told Bloomberg that Activision CEO Robert Kotick may be interested in lining up partners for a management-led plan to purchase Vivendi's stake. “Any transaction that happens will involve Activision as one of the partners,” Bhatia said in an interview. “Whether it's today or in three months, I don't think it really matters that much.”

Movers & Shakers

Management

Vivendi Finding Scant Interest While Shopping Activision Stake

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/lyv#NYSE">LYV</a>), the world's leading live entertainment and eCommerce company, and Universal Music Group (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/vivef#">VIVEF</a>), the world's leading music company, today announced the formation of a broad-based strategic partnership. 
 
Live Nation Entertainment's Front Line Management Group division and UMG will launch a joint venture management company aimed at managing and strengthening artists and their brands through a variety of worldwide sponsorships, strategic marketing campaigns and brand extension opportunities. The partnership will be managed by Front Line and will focus on developing direct-to-consumer bundling initiatives for select UMG artists in key markets around the world that bring together concert tickets and a variety of music products with artist websites. In addition, ticketing and bundling products will be handled by Live Nation Entertainment's Ticketmaster division, the global event ticketing leader and one of the top-five eCommerce companies in the world.

Irving Azoff, Executive Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and Chairman and CEO of Front Line Management Group, commented: "This is an unprecedented partnership that unites the world's top music artists with the world's leading artist management, live entertainment, event ticketing and sponsorship resources to drive innovation across our industry. We see tremendous opportunities to work together to create a broad range of products built on the power of music and the direct connection between artists and fans. We look forward to working closely with Lucian Grainge and the talented UMG team in this new and exciting chapter of the music industry."

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to partner with Universal Music Group's incredible roster of global superstars and emerging artists," said Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment. "Ticketmaster's digital distribution platforms will further support artist development by reaching millions of fans worldwide."

"Together with Irving and Michael, we are creating a series of new platforms and global direct-to-consumer initiatives that will further expand the presence of our artists in this evolving marketplace while providing music fans with even more flexibility in how they consume music," commented Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG. "Our artists and their music are at the heart of everything that we do, and by leveraging our combined skills, strengths and global reach with that of Live Nation Entertainment, our management companies, artists and their fans will benefit immeasurably."

After-Hours Center

Live Nation Entertainment and Universal Music Group Announce Strategic Partnership

Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas downgrade Vivendi (OTC: VIVEF) from “outperform” to “neutral.”
VIVEF shares gained 2.13% to close at $29.30 yesterday.
<a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings">More Analyst Ratings here</a>

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Exane BNP Paribas Downs VIVEF To Neutral

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